Future Shock
by Werewolff
Summary: Pheobe and Shawn start a family.  Some 'Buffy' Cross over


Future Shock 

By Wolffman

DISCLAIMER: Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Paige Halliwell, Andy Trudeau, leo Wyatt, Cole Turner and all other characters who have appeared in the series "Charmed" together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of Aaron Spelling, E. Duke Vincent, and the Warner Brothers Television Network. No copyright infringement was intended in the writing of this fan fiction. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author

Any references from 'Buffy, the Vampire Slayer' belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. The Pulitzer Prize belongs to someone else. All the other people, stores, and magazines I use are fictitious; except, Mount Zion Medical Center, it's a real Hospital in San Francisco.

This is the first in a series. I'm bringing one of my characters from my 'Buffy' Story 'Outcast.' I started writing this story early in 2000, I hope this was worth the wait.

Wednesday, August 29th 2007, 8:00 Am 

"Prue! Get in here now!" Piper Halliwell yelled, "Jennifer almost burned me, again!"

Prue came running into the kitchen. "Jennifer Ann Carter! What did I tell you about using your powers in the house?"

"Sorry mommy. Aunt Piper want heat." The three year-old red head answered. Both of Prue's girls had powers, as did her niece. Melinda, Piper's daughter, had telekinesis, and Jennifer's power was pyrokenesis. Julie had the gift of prophecy, or so Prue thought. She hadn't made a prediction, but she had 'zoned out' a few times. Prue wanted Phoebe to work with Julie on learning to use her power.

"Just don't do that again, okay?" Prue lowered her voice, "Aunt Piper would get upset if you accidentally burned her kitchen down. Now, go find Julie." She kissed her daughter on the cheek. Turning to her sister, "You ready for the interview? Can you believe that _Nightclub Monthly Magazine_ wants to interview you."

"Well, I do have an entire chain, currently numbering six, and I did it in eight years. Being a single mother didn't help much." She didn't know that her comment was overheard by the wrong ears. "Is the paparazzi ready?" Piper called upstairs, "Melinda, breakfast."

"You know it sister." Prue answered, holding up her camera.

"Good morning mommy." Melinda Halliwell said. She was wearing a pair of blue overalls and had her long brown hair in a ponytail, just like her mother. Melinda had her mother's hazel eyes and fathers chin. She would be starting first grade in a few weeks.

"Good morning sweetie, I hope you're hungry, we're having bacon, eggs and hash browns." She looked at Prue, "Have you seen Phoebe?"

"I heard her in the bathroom. I think she said that Shawn was having a late night at the main frame and she came over here to sleep." Prue responded.

Shaking her head, "I wouldn't like the idea of my husband working around a beautiful woman like Willow so closely." Piper said.

"That's why you and Leo got divorced." Prue joked. "All those other pretty witches he was protecting."

"NO, it wasn't!" The divorce was still an open wound , even after a year and a half. "Melinda, go check on the twins, please." She hated to discuss the divorce in front of Melinda.

Just than, Phoebe walked into the kitchen. She was still in her pajamas and robe.

"I don't feel so good, do we have any juice?" She accepted the glass from Piper. "I have to teach today. I wonder if I can get that lazy assistant of mine to cover the class." She noticed that Melinda was in the room, "Hey munchkin, what's up?"

"Nothing." She said.

"I thought I asked you to go get the twins for breakfast." Piper requested, her voice was harsher than she meant. Melinda walked out of the kitchen, a single tear welled up in her brown eyes.

"Not if you call him lazy. Is he really that bad?" Prue asked.

Phoebe was just about to answer, when a wave of nausea rolled over her. She threw up into the trash can.

"I think I just lost my appetite." Prue said as she watched her sister. "Are you okay? Do you want to see the doctor?"

"No, I saw her yesterday. How long does morning sickness usually last?" she asked as she wiped her mouth.

"Morning sickness? YOU'RE PREGNANT!" The two sisters said at the same time. Prue and Piper were squealing in delight.

"Yep, about six weeks. Has anybody seen Shawn? I wanted to wait till I was sure, before I told him."

"I saw him head outside about an hour ago. He said that he wanted to get in a run before he goes to the office. Doesn't he have that big demonstration today at Buckland's?" Prue asked.

"Yes, he does. Willow stopped by about 9:00 last night to use the mainframe." Phoebe answered, sipping at her juice.

"How's the baby going to effect the professorship? I still can't believe you get offered that position." Piper said. "You've only had your Ph.D. for a year and your just 29. You must be good."

"I'm one of the leading experts on supernatural phenomenon." Phoebe said.

"I wonder why?" Piper asked with sarcastic tone.

"When did you two find the time? I mean he's running Securtech and you're an assistant professor of mythology and the occult at the university." Prue asked.

"A little over a month ago, I came home from work and Shawn had taken the afternoon off and cooked dinner for me. He made that Italian dish I love, with some seasoned meatballs and garlic bread." She glanced at the counter top, to hide her blush. "Then we started watching a movie on the couch and snuggling and one thing led to another…" Phoebe said with and impish grin.

"Oh, rub it in why don't you." Piper said in mock anger. She had buried herself in her work since her marriage had gone south. She didn't want to let herself be that vulnerable, ever again.

The front door opened and Shawn came walking in. He was toweling the sweat from his forehead. His brown hair, which Phoebe had talked him into growing out from the flat top he used to have, was matted to his head. He stood just over six feet tall, was clean shaven, and sported several scars on his chest and arms. His rippling muscles spoke of his former occupation; however, most of his battles now were waged in the boardroom with a laptop computer as his weapon of choice. Buckland's had been a tough corporation to crack. His business was corporate security.

When he first started dating Phoebe, _The Powers That Be_ tried to break them up, but their love overcame the obstacles. Piper and Prue had been very uneasy when he told them about his background; being half vampire. Prue had gotten use to the idea; while Piper still didn't like it. Piper had left the pitcher of papaya juice out. After pouring a tall glass, he sat down next to Phoebe. He leaned over and gave her a good morning kiss.

"How is the most beautiful woman the world this morning?" he asked.

"I'm sick." she gave him her _'baby me' _face.

Looking concerned, "I thought there was something different with your scent. I heard there's a nasty strain of the flu going around. You should stay home today."

"My scent? I do not smell." She looked at him.

Finishing his juice, "Ya, you do. All humans have a nature scent, kind of like a biological tag. Everyone's is unique. Vampires can pick it up." He explained.

"You can call it the Flu, but in eight months we better have a name." She informed him.

Shawn was momentarily stunned. "You're pregnant?" Phoebe nodded. He wrapped Phoebe up in a hug and spun around circle. "I'm going to be a father!"

"Shawn, Shawn, please stop spinning me around." She was turning green.

As Shawn put Phoebe down, Melinda came running back into the kitchen. She telepathically knocked Shawn to the ground. "Julie said she saw Uncle Shawn spinning Aunt Phoebe around and she thought he was going to throw her out the door like he did to that bad man." She was nearly crying.

"What bad man?" Prue asked. Shawn had never thrown anyone out of the house.

Phoebe got down on one knee and explained. "Uncle Shawn just found out that he's going to be a daddy, like your daddy and Uncle Steve. He's really happy, that's all. I'm glad you three girls are watching out for me. How about tonight we go get some ice cream?" Phoebe was already getting sugar cravings.

"Ice cream!" Melinda ran out into the living room.

"Think I can bribe Chance with ice cream?" She asked, referring to her Teaching Assistant.

Shawn looked at her, as he rose from the floor "Chance Dunlow?"

Nodding, "Ya, he only seems to be interested in doing research or lording over some group of co-eds. He hates teaching."

"If he says no, read him this number." Shawn wrote a five digit number on a napkin. "It's the security code to his mistress's house. If that doesn't work, try this one." He wrote a second number. "It's the account number where he's keeping his illegal funds, among other things he's a bookie on the side."

"Where did you get this information?" Phoebe asked.

"My company installed the home security system and we sliced the bank that he uses a few months back. They hired us to test the new anti-slicer computer defenses. It was good; Willow was better." Shawn explained. "Now if you ladies will excuse me, I need to shower. Piper could you warm up some breakfast for me, I have to be at Buckland's by 9:00. Phoebe, want to discuss names?" Nodding, Phoebe followed him up the stairs.

"Sure, For here or to go?" Piper asked, as she pulled a quart jar from the fridge. "Prue I think you have the only human husband out of us. Steve is human, right?"

"Very. You still don't like him? Phoebe trusted him enough to marry him. What do you have against vampires?"

"Nothing, just their finicky diets." She said putting a coffee mug full of blood into the microwave.

**Thirty minutes Later**

Shawn came walking downstairs, dressed in a dark gray suit. Stopping at the hall mirror, he adjusted the knot on his silk tie. The phone rang. "I'll get it." He called out.

"Hello, Halliwell residence."

"Shawn, I just got in. Their security was really good, triple layered and two firewalls. Very tight for an auction house. I had to run three different decryption programs and write a forth to crack it. You ready?" Willow asked.

"Yes Aunt Willow, I am."

"Aunt?" Willow was slightly surprised; She was Godmother to the other girls. "Phoebe's pregnant."

"Yes she is." He heard a click on the line, below normal human range "Willow, did you just switch something over?"

"No, what's up."

He became all business. "Scan the phones; my house and the manor. Spike the tap, I'm on my way over." He set the phone down, but left it off the hook, "Someone tapped the phone line. Willow's tracing it, so don't hang it up. I'll call on the cellular when it's clean." He ran out the door.

"Who would want to tap our phones?" Prue asked.

"I can think of a couple hundred demons who would want us dead." Piper said.

"Piper, demons don't tap phones." Prue reminded her.

Phoebe walked into the kitchen, still in her robe. Her hair was wet from the shower. "Prue, do you remember how to make that herbal tea that settled your stomach when you were pregnant? I need to keep something down."

"One step ahead of you little sister." Prue handed over a mug. "I hope it's a boy. What are you going to name it?"

"If it's a girl, he wants to name her Maya; after his mother. We agreed that I name the son, I have just the name." Phoebe said sipping the tea. "Thank you Prue, this is great. Right now, I'll settle for healthy."

"Maya, I like that name. Get used to it, there's never been a son born to this family." Piper informed them. "I wonder what she'll look like?"

"We don't even know what it is." Phoebe replied.

"Well, it'll probably be a mutant like the twins." Prue was shocked by Pipers comment. "Don't look at me like that; You and Steve both have dark hair and they have red hair."

"It's from my fiery temper." Prue said.

Next door 

Looking at the screen, "You're absolutely sure this is where the tap came from?" Shawn asked.

Nodding, "I cross-referenced the phone records with the city map, the tap came from this address in England. Do you know that location?" Willow asked.

"Yes, it's the Watcher's Council. What would they were with me now? They put me on the rogue slayers list over fifteen years ago and have been hunting me since that time. But, they've been quiet for years." Shawn wondered out loud. "Willow, access the archives and see if you can find anything related to the Day Stalker. There has to be some reason they would want my phone tapped."

"You still going to Buckland's?" Willow asked, imputing the commands to the mainframe.

"Yes, I have a family support." Willow knew this was a joke, he had build one of the most respected and profitable corporate security firms in the United States. The company reported profits of almost one billion the last fiscal year.

Shawn hit the speed dial for Phoebe's cell phone. "Hi honey, you can hang up the phone now. I'll be over in a few minutes. I love you too." He shut off his cell phone. "Willow, I want the computer set to scan the phone lines at random intervals. Also, I want a security team outside the manor. If someone other than a family member knocks on the door, I want a photo and history on them. Keep this _**'My eyes only'**_, no one else needs to know about this."

"Okay Shawn." Willow made the appropriate calls. "The team will be here in 20 minutes. The computer just came up with some correlations. Most of this is standard background information, hello there…"

"What?" Shawn was getting impatient.

"This entry is on the son of the stalker."

Shawn scanned the article. "If this is true, and every nutball, demon, and watcher in the world will want our child." He hit a button on the keyboard, and the laser printer whirled to life. "I need to tell Phoebe." Shawn was sprinting up the stairs, papers in hand.

"Don't forget the Buckland's presentation." Willow reminded him.

"Phoebe, do you remember the Watchers Council I told you about?" Shawn asked, walking into the manor.

"Ya, what do they want?" Phoebe replied.

Pulling out a piece of paper, Shawn began to explain, "There was a prophecy written in the late 1300's. It said:

'The union of Earth and demon shall produce the Champion.

The union of the Champion and mother earth shall produce the Coin:

On one side, Mankind's savior;

On the other, its destructor.'"

"In ancient times the Earth referred to women, and a witch was Mother Earth." Prue interjected. Noting the stares, "Can't I have some knowledge? I'm not just another shutter-bug."

Shawn continued the interpretation. "Vampires are a form of demon, so I must be the champion. Our son will be this coin."

"That doesn't sound good." Phoebe said.

"It gets better." Shawn said in a sarcastic tone, as he pulled out a second piece of paper. "Willow found a second reference to the son of the Day stalker. By itself it's nothing, but with a little more research it has some meaning. The numbers in the prophecy correspond to a passage in the Bible: Revolution chapter 6 Verse 8

'_And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth._'"

"So I could be the mother of the Apocalypse?" Phoebe broke down. Prue was there with another cup of tea and a shoulder to cry on.

"You could also be the mother of the Earth's salvation." Shawn tried to cheer her up. "I'm having a security team put outside. You should be safe from vampires, they can't come in unless you invite them. I also checked some other references. There are certain rules we must abide by: Magic cannot be used for revenge or personal gain, we can not bring anybody back from the dead, and this is the most important rule, we cannot fight on holy ground."

"Should I move into a church until I have the baby?" Phoebe asked, through her tears.

Shaking his head, "No, the manor was built on the holy ground. Holy to the Wiccan religion. Demons can't get you in the house. The council can. Prue, Piper, and the kids will have to watch for them. If something happens, I have the best hostage rescue team outside."

"Why is this happening to us?" The situation and her hormones brought Phoebe back to tears. "I mean kids are hard enough and now…" Shawn held her until she cried herself out.

Handing over a handkerchief, Shawn said, "I won't let anyone get you or our child. You have the best man in the security business as your husband." Shawn hugged her. "I'll call Chance and get him to cover for you. Why don't you go upstairs and try to rest."

"Okay. I love you." She kissed him.

"I love you more."

"Ready to go?" Willow asked from the back seat of the armored SUV.

"I just had to calm Phoebe down. The prophecy really shook her up. I hate to leave her like this…" Shawn was hanging his head.

"Do you want to stay? I can handle the presentation." Willow told him.

"No, this is too big of a deal to miss. I'll head back after the meeting." Shawn replied, as he settled into the back seat next to Willow. Reaching for the car phone, he wondered how tough it was for her to work with him. She had had feelings for him once and had been crushed when he announced his engagement to Phoebe, five years ago. The breakup with Oz had been rougher then she let on, and when Tara was killed, she had no one left. Shawn had been the only one there for her. She had tried to move on with her life; however, most of her friends were gone. Xander and Anya had married during her sophomore year in college and were now running a coffee shop in Seattle. Buffy dated several more guys after Reily, and had very little time for Willow.

Oz was a different story. She still missed him, especially since that rancher had mistaken him for a coyote. The whole Scooby gang had been at the funeral. While she had put up a good front, she had been an emotional wreck inside. She started drinking heavily and dropped out of college. Shawn took a leave of absence from the company and went to Sunnydale. It took awhile to find Willow; she had been thrown out of her parent's house and was living on the streets. Shawn got her into rehab and when she was clean, offered her a job with Securtech. Willow, using the tuition reimbursement program, had gone back to school and earned both her Bachelors and Masters Degrees; within the next year she would have her Ph.D. in computer sciences. Phoebe understood when Shawn drove to Sunnydale and stayed there while Willow recovered, she liked the apprentice witch.

About 12:30 at Buckland's 

The representatives from Buckland's were impressed by the array of services and protection programs offered by Securtech; Ranging from personal security for key officers and clients to computer fraud defense. The deal was just about to be signed when Shawn's cellular phone rang.

"Excuse me gentlemen." He walked over to the corner of the room. "Wolff."

"Shawn, it's Phoebe. How many cars did you send? I know I sound paranoid, but I would rather be over cautious." She was nearly rambling.

"Four cars, why?" He informed her.

Phoebe's tone changed. "There are two down the street, two up the street and four more across from the manor."

"The four across the street aren't mine, we never concentrate forces. Too easy to pin down. Where are the kids? Get away from the windows. If anyone comes to the door and says that they're from the company, DON'T LET THEM IN. All my people stay out of sight on a stake out. I'm going to send another unit and air support. I'm coming home. I love you." Shawn hung up the phone "Gentlemen, I have to attend to personal business. My wife is feeling ill. Ms. Rosenberg can answer any questions you may have. I also left the direct number to my office. I'm sorry to have to leave but…"

"I understand. I hope your wife is feeling better soon." The head of the Buckland's delegation stated.

"Den, this is Wolff. Copy." Shawn said into his radio. The SUV was heading back to the manor as fast as traffic would allow.

"Wolf, authenticate." The radio controller stated.

"Delta Omega 357."

"Confirmed. Situation?"

"I need a second unit to 1329 Prescott street, air units also. Transport the men via the Huey's. Traffic is gridlocked. There is an unknown group at this location, consider them hostile. Out" Shawn heard the 10-4's over the air.

"Air units are lifting off now, ETA 4 minutes."

Worried about his wife and unborn child, Shawn opened his door. "Meet me at the house!" Shawn then jumped out of the stopped vehicle and began to run the two and a half miles to the manor. He was thankful he had changed out of his suit and into fatigues; and that the lightweight body armor didn't show under the urban camouflage pattern.

Hearing a faint _whoop-whoop_ overhead; He knew that the choppers were going to get there first. He then heard a car horn; turning around, he spotted the SUV coming down the road. As it slowed, he jumped on the running boards.

"Radio." He ordered. "ETA on the second unit? Ground unit is 2 minutes out."  
He asked the controller.

"They're arriving on scene now and are engaging the terrorists. Our people have them pinned, but no one can get to the house."

"Tell them to hold positions. We'll get to the house. We're coming in off of Keelson Ave. out." Shawn passed the Mic back inside the vehicle. "Rifle!" he ordered.

The passenger, Stan Ford, handed the fully loaded short barreled carbine out the window. Stan preferred the smaller 9 mm sub-machine gun, every member of the unit carried a 12 mm pistol.

Yelling to the driver, "Park it in the front yard!" Shawn and the other three men got out on the passenger side of the armored car. The terrorist unit was small, about 15 men, but held a fortified position. The Securtech units couldn't advance without taking heavy loses. Shawn got in touch with the overhead air units via the ear piece radio.

"Can you land in the backyard? He asked, knowing that he had to get the women out.

"Negative, But I can land on the street behind the house. Viper 1 reports a gunman on the swing set." The transport pilot reported.

"What the hell is he doing there?" Shawn yelled into the microphone.

The men heard the distinctive sound of the Viper gunship's chin turret. The terrorists also heard the chain saw-like buzz. "Viper 1 reports the terrorist is neutralized. We will land in 90 seconds. Over."

"Roger, 9-0 seconds, six to transport." Shawn answered. "Frost, you got point. GO!" Stan laid down cover fire while the men broke for the house.

"Phoebe!" Shawn shouted, as he entered the family room.

"Back here." She called out. "We're in the kitchen."

"Any injuries?" Frost, who was the combat medic, asked.

"No, but the kids are scared. So am I." Piper was crying and holding Melinda close to her.

Handing his rifle to Anderson, the man who had driven the SUV, Shawn knelt down to the kids level, "You girls want to go on a helicopter ride?"

They all nodded. He put his body armor on Melinda, then put her on his back and scooped up a twin under each arm. "Anderson, point; Ford, right; Frost, left." He handed out assignments. Looking out the back window, he saw the helicopter preparing to land. "GO!" The small group ran out the back door. Prue reached the chopper first and jumped through the open side door. Phoebe and Piper were climbing into the older model transport helicopter as Shawn tossed Jennifer and then Julie to the waiting crewman. He pulled Melinda over his shoulder and handed her to Piper. Frost, Anderson, and Ford also boarded the chopper.

"Blopper!" he shouted over the engine. The Flight engineer tossed him the rotary grenade launcher. Shawn knew that it was loaded with the non-lethal 'Flash-Bang' rounds. Checking one last time, he slapped the pilot's door and gave the 'thumbs up'. The engine spun up to full power and the helicopter rose into the sky. It had been on the ground for all of twelve seconds.

"LZ?" The pilot asked over the encrypted Comm link.

"The fortress." Shawn answered. The fortress was the most secure room at the downtown building. It was styled after a three bedroom apartment with walls over five feet thick. The door was constructed of reinforced Titanium alloy.

"Wolf to Zeus." Shawn was trying to raise his sniper.

"This is Zeus." He replied. Although Shawn had worked with him for years, Zeus' cool voice still gave the vampire shivers.

Running back through the house, "Situation report." Shawn wanted to know what was going on.

"Terrorists are fortified, they've taken casualties. We can't advance without heavy loses. Recommendations." Zeus said.

"Hold tight. I got some crowd pleasers ." Shawn used the flash-bang's nickname. Exiting the house, he spoke into the radio, "Fire in the hole!"

Raising the launcher, he fired six of the rounds at the attacker's position. The five second fuses detonated over the terrorist location, causing immediate blindness and deafness.

Like the well trained unit they were, the Securtech team advanced and quickly disarmed the remaining terrorists.

"Photos." Shawn ordered as he walked through the terrorists. Webber, the heavy weapons specialist, pulled a digital camera from the thigh pouch of his pants and began to photograph the prisoners. Looking around at the battle zone, Shawn took stock of the situation. "Call SFPD, they're probably on their way already. Flex-cuff them, and prepare to move out."

"In the cars?" One of the team asked.

"Yes."

"We have two that are undrivable." Shawn noticed the bullet holes in the tires. Neither could be repaired in time. Shawn knew he had to get the twenty five men moved out before the police arrived. Even with the additional seating of the SUV, the three drivable cars at the scene could hold only twenty, even then the men would be sitting shoulder to shoulder.

Shawn pulled his key ring from the duffel bag containing his suit. "Take my car. I'll take a cab after I handle the cops. Debriefing at 1400."

"Aye sir. Move out." The second in command ordered. The team quickly cleared their weapons and stowed them in the cars. Shawn handed over the grenade launcher and watched as the four cars drove away.

1600 (4:00 PM), Securtech headquarters. 

"Where's Shawn?" Phoebe was pacing around the room. Piper walked over and handed her a bottle of water.

"Relax, He'll be fine. Why don't you sit down for a minute." Prue pushed out a chair. Phoebe sat down and opened the water.

"Prue, Piper." Phoebe looked at her sisters. "I need some advice. I have no idea how to be a mother and I'm really worried about that prophecy and …" She lost it. The other two sisters tried to comfort Phoebe. Julie, Prue's youngest daughter, walked over to the sisters. "Don't cry Aunt Phoebe. Patty make it all better." And held up her doll.

Laughing through the tears, "Aunt Phoebe's having a really tough day. I think I owe you girls some ice cream when we go home." She said.

"Ice cream!" Julie ran off to play with the other kids.

Looking at the children, Piper sighed, "Remember when our problems could be solved with ice cream or a kiss from mom."

"Now we're the moms." Prue said. "Phoebe, you'll be fine. I know right now you don't think you could take care of a goldfish, and your filled with all the doubts in the world. Trust me, when you see your baby for the first time, everything will fall into place. Besides you have all our mistakes to learn from." They had a good laugh. Piper's laugh was a little more forced than her sister's.

Shawn walked into the main room. He was dressed in jeans and a tee shirt; he wore a worried look.

"What's the matter?" Prue asked.

Shawn pulled a stack of files from his briefcase. "The gunmen were Watchers. We found the hotel they were staying at, checked out this morning. They were going to leave the country after the hit on the manor. Willow has the mainframe checking for anybody trying to leave the country for England. I'm betting that Wesley was their contact over here."

"What are we going to do? We can't have a shootout in the street every week." Phoebe was crying. Shawn wrapped his arms around her.

"I know. I doubt that they'll try anything like that again, at least for a while." Shawn commented. He held her until she calmed down.

"Let's go home. I need a drink." Piper said.

"I have to take care of some things first, give me ten minutes. You want to wait in the office"

"Sure." Phoebe answered for the group.

Following Shawn and Phoebe out, Melinda asked, "Aunt Phoebe, you still buying us ice cream?"

"Yep, but only if you eat your veggies." She was learning the art of bribing a child.

Shawn motioned for Phoebe off to the side. Leaning over to her ear, "Phoebe, your going to start getting some strange cravings." Shawn told her.

"I already am. I was wanting a peanut butter and banana sandwich. You know I hate peanut butter." She replied.

"No, I mean you're going to be craving human blood. It's the little vampire in you." Shawn explained.

She turned to face him. "Human blood. I'm going to turn into a vampire!" She was on the edge of tears.

"No, the baby's body chemistry will cause the cravings. You're not going to turn into anything other than a mother. I have a good supply of blood, so you'll have plenty of munchies." Shawn tried to joke.

"I'm O positive, by the way." Phoebe said.

"Uncle Shawn, what's this door?" Melinda asked. The door was over seven feet tall and five feet wide.

"It leads to my personal safe. I keep some things in there that I don't want anyone else to see." Shawn told her.

"Like what?" Julie asked.

"All the secrets of this company, and the bodies of some demons I've defeated." He cracked a smile.

"Really?" Melinda asked.

"Well, just one. He was really bad." Shawn answered. Lowering his voice to a near whisper, "He almost killed me."

One hour later at the manor 

Shawn parked his Jeep in the driveway as the company car pulled in behind him. Piper, Prue, and Melinda got out of the sedan; it backed out and drove away.

"Prue?" Phoebe asked.

Without looking up from the front door lock, "Ya Pheebs."

"What was the name of that store you got those really cool looking maternity clothes at?"

"_Mom 2 Be_, it's over on Hudson. You want to go there Saturday to look around? I don't have any shoots scheduled that day." Prue was one of the most sought after photographers on the West Coast. She hadn't received the Pulitzer Prize yet, but she did have a bookcase filled with other photographic awards. She knew that someday that award would be hers also.

"Sounds good to me. I'm going upstairs to take a nap; I was up half the night sick. Shawn, could you look at my shoulder? I think I hurt it when I got into the helicopter." She rubbed her left shoulder.

"Sure, just let me get some coffee. I'll be upstairs in a few minutes." Shawn headed into the kitchen while Phoebe headed to her room. Even though she and Prue had moved out of the manor, their old rooms were still untouched.

As Shawn stopped in the doorway of the bedroom, he noticed that Phoebe was standing in front of the full length mirror; a pillow stuffed under her shirt. He cracked a smile. "Should I leave the two of you alone, come back later?"

"Sorry, I was just wondering what I'll look like all fat and bloated." Phoebe pulled the pillow out of her shirt and wrapped her arms around Shawn's waist.

"You're still going be the most beautiful woman in the world." He said. He then began to remove her blouse. "Let's take a look at your shoulder."

"Careful there, that's how this whole mess got started." Phoebe joked, standing on her toes.

Downstairs, Julie made a face. "Uncle Shawn kissing Aunt Phoebe. Yucky!"

"Julie Marie Carter, stop spying on your aunt and uncle." Prue ordered. "How did mom ever survive with three witches in the house?" She asked Piper.

"No idea, but your daughter never threw her diaper bag at you when she was wet." Piper responded.

"No, mine just tried to dry their own diapers. Almost set the crib on fire once or twice." Prue countered.

Shawn and Phoebe finally broke their kiss. "Is it me, or is it warm in here?" Shawn asked.

Pausing to consider her answer, "Both. Argh." She winced as she tried to stroke the hair from his face.

"Let me look at your shoulder." He gently ran his hands over the joint. "Some bruising and swelling, but I don't think the joint is damaged. If it doesn't improve by tomorrow, I'm taking you to a doctor."

"I'd rather have you try you skills first. For someone whose major talent is fighting, you have very gentle hands." She took his hand in hers and looked at the palm. He had calluses near the base of his fingers, but the palm was smooth; she insisted that he use moisturizing lotion.

"You mean these skills?" He moved in behind her, and began to massage her shoulders. One advantage of the watcher education was a unique knowledge of human physiology; he knew exactly where the pressure points were. Phoebe began to relax under his skilled touch. "I forgot how good your back rubs were." She stifled a yawn.

"You should see me play the piano."

Within two minutes, Phoebe was asleep. Shawn quietly closed the door on his way out. Jennifer was standing in the hallway, playing with her doll.

"What you doing?" Her three year old vocabulary said.

He placed his right forefinger to his lips, " Shh, Aunt Phoebe's taking a nap. Let's go downstairs and see what's for diner." He whispered.

"Mommy, Aunt Phoebe napping." Jennifer yelled as she ran into the kitchen. Prue was closing the oven door.

"Shouldn't we be quiet then?" Prue asked softly. "Go wash up for diner. We're having fish sticks."

"Yummy." Jennifer walked towards the downstairs bathroom.

"How are you two doing?" Shawn asked. Piper was pouring another glass of wine.

"I am still freaked out by it all. Why is this happening to us?" Piper lost it, she threw her glass against the far wall. "Melinda almost got hit by a stray bullet! You and your watchers nearly killed my daughter!" Piper began to pound on Shawn's chest. "I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" Shawn stood there absorbing Piper's anger.

"Mommy? Are you mad at Uncle Shawn?" Melinda asked from the doorway, interrupting the tirade.

Piper looked at her daughter, brushing the hair out of her face, "Mommy's very mad, but not at Uncle Shawn."

"You're not mad at me? Are you?" A tear came to her eye, as she asked "Do you still love me?"

That question caught Piper like a sledge hammer in the stomach. Kneeling in front of Melinda, "No matter what happens, I will always love you pumpkin. I will never be mad at you, never." Piper was regaining control of herself.

"I love you mommy." Mother and daughter hugged; neither one talking. Nothing else needed to be said.

"I love you too." Piper wiped the tears from her eyes. "Go play on the twins."

She looked at Shawn, "I'm, uh, I'm sorry. I just took out my frustration on the first target I saw."

"Better me than Melinda." Shawn said.

"I would **never, ever **hit Melinda!" Piper was shouting. She leaned against the refrigerator then slid to the floor, crying.

Prue ran over to her sister. "Piper, what's wrong? You're not on those pills again?" She asked, referring to Piper's drug addiction eight years ago.

"No. Worse, I'm a bad mother." She answered weakly. "My own daughter has to ask if I still love her. I shut everyone out and now I have no one!"

"You're not a bad mother, just overwhelmed. You want to talk?" Prue asked.

"I need help. Being a single mom with a very successful chain of night clubs is harder than it looks. HELP!" Piper was babbling.

Walking out of earshot, Shawn pulled out his cell phone and punched in a number.

"Hello, Sue. Yeah, it's Shawn. Pretty good, I need a favor, my sister-in-law needs someone to talk to. Send me the bill. As soon as you can get her in. See you then." He killed the connection. Walking back into the kitchen, "Piper, I just talked to a friend of mine, she's human, but she knows how to keep a secret. I got you an appointment for tomorrow at 3:00. She's really good, and you don't have to worry about the cost. I'll cover it."

"How do you know she can keep a secret? She could be a watcher." Piper was nearly hysterical.

Shawn sat down next to Piper, "I trusted her with my secrets seven years ago. After I left Sunnydale, I had no direction, no purpose. You see, I spent the first fifteen years of my life taking orders from and then the next ten running from the Council. Giles lied and said that I died during the battle with the vampires. They didn't believe him; but that bought me some time. I was feeling really low; I was ready to stake myself." He had to pause to regain his composure. "I found her, Sue, through a mutual friend and made an appointment. She showed me that I had a life worth living. She also showed me how I could use my talents and education for good, how to hide in plan sight, and make a profit at it. She probably saved my life. Plus Sue's the same counselor that Prue saw three years ago."

Drying her eyes, "When things settle down, I'll pay you back." Piper said.

Shaking his head, "Consider it me repaying a debt long owed."

"You don't owe me any money, do you?" Piper asked.

"It's not money I owe, it's something much more important. You three have given me a family and a home." Rising to his feet, "Sue's a good listener and should be able to help."

Piper wiped her eyes, "Thank you. I'm really sorry for hitting you like that. You're not hurt or anything?" She asked.

Helping her to a standing position, "No, you'd have to hit me with a baseball bat to hurt me." Shawn replied. He turned and turned checked the contents of the oven. "Phoebe might start to drink blood. It's the baby, it's going to have my appetite. So don't stare at her if she does. She freaked out really bad when I told her."

"Pheebs, wake up." Shawn gently shook her.

Blinking the sleep from her hazel eyes, "What time is it?"

"About 7:00 PM. You hungry?" He looked at her shoulder again. The swelling had gone down somewhat.

"What did you guys have? Red meat?" Her mouth watered.

"Fish sticks. You want some red meat? I think we have some, it might be frozen though." He answered, cracking a smile.

"Fish sticks are fine. How about ice cream later?" She pulled a tee shirt on.

"The girls will love you for it. They ate their vegetables." Shawn informed her.

"Hold still please." Prue said to Jennifer. The toddler refused to give up the ice cream on her face.

"No, my ice cream." Jennifer kept squirming.

Trying not to laugh, "She is definitely your daughter Prue; she hates sharing her ice cream too." Phoebe said.

Prue looked around and saw they were alone; she projected herself to Jennifer's other side.

"Prue, I need your help with her face." The original said to the projection. Over the past eight years Prue had gotten to the point of being able to control both herself and her projection.

Wetting a napkin, "Ready Prue? The two moms made short work of the messy child.

"NO FAIR!" Jennifer screamed. Everyone noticed that the room was getting warmer.

"Shh, shh. Everything's okay." Prue tried to calm her down before the room reached the flashover point. "I can't wait until Steve gets back from that medical conference Friday."

Melinda walked over to the screaming child, ran her finger across her cone, and dabbed some of the soft-serve onto Jennifer's nose. The crying stopped. "Thank you Melinda." The two Prues said.

"You're welcome Aunt Prues." She returned to her seat next to Phoebe. "Thank you for the ice cream, Aunt Phoebe."

"You're welcome sweetie." Phoebe answered, she was half done with her banana split. Shawn was standing with his back to a wall, scanning the room. Under his jacket he had three pistols.

"Shawn?" Phoebe motioned towards the seat across from her. "You look stressed out, worried about another attack?"

Shawn sat down, "Yes, but from vampires. This is their time." He took a sip of his milkshake and looked at Julie. He smiled at the red head, "You saving that for later?"

She smiled back, "Ya, good ice cream." She was wearing half the bowl. Neither of the twins had mastered the art of ice cream cones yet.

"Julie, you're as messy as Jennifer. You two will have to get a bath when we get back." Prue said as she tried to clean her other daughter.

Piper was over at the far table by herself; she had barely touched her sundae.

"Melinda, I think someone needs you." Phoebe said, motioning towards Piper.

Melinda walked over to the table and sat down across from Piper. "Mommy?" She asked.

"Ya." Piper was sitting sideways, still staring out the window. She didn't realize who was talking to her.

Melinda got up and walked around until she was standing in front of her mom. "What's wrong, mommy?" She looked at her shoes, "Did I do something bad?"

This snapped Piper out of her daze. "No, you're perfect. Mommy's the one who needs help." Piper looked at her hands, they were shaking. "I guess you're old enough to hear this. A long time ago, before you were born; mommy had to handle a lot of responsibility. Aunt Phoebe wasn't a professor yet and Aunt Prue had just bought her first set of camera equipment; I was the only one working. I did something really bad." She had to stop and wipe the tears from her eyes. "I started taking pills."

"Why?" Melinda interrupted.

"Because I was working too hard and didn't ask for help. Anyway, I almost died because of my addiction."

"What's addition?" Melinda asked, doing her best to pronounce the new word.

"It's when you take something because it makes you feel better." Piper said.

"Like medicine?" Melinda asked.

"Sort of, but what I was taking was bad for me. It made me really sick and really mean." Piper was fighting back the memories of that time.

Thinking for a minute, "If it's bad for you, why did you take it?" her hazel eyes watering.

"I don't know, I really don't know." Piper used a napkin to wipe her eyes. "Now, with six clubs and your Aunt Phoebe being pregnant,"

"What's pregnant?" Melinda was at that age when she wanted to know everything.

"You remember when Aunt Prue got really big and then one day the twins came home?" Melinda nodded, "That's what's going to happen to Aunt Phoebe, but she's only getting one baby. With all this and what happened today, mommy needs some help. Everything's going to be okay, I promise."

"Pinky swear?" Melinda held up her right hand, pinky out.

Piper broke into a smile, her first of the night, "Pinky swear." She shook her daughter's finger, remembering all the times the sister's made that same pact.

They hugged and Piper started to cry again.

"You sad mommy?"

"No, sweetie. I'm so happy, I'm crying." Melinda didn't understand. "Let's see what the others are doing." They got up and walked hand in hand towards the rest of the group. Piper felt better talking to Melinda; She felt that she had ignored Melinda for too long. "Melinda, how about this Saturday we go to the mall, just you and me? Girls day out. I missed too much of you growing up and I want to be part of your life." She had to fight back the tears. "I know that I haven't been there a lot these past five years, but I'm going to try to be a better mommy to you."

"You're already the bestest mommy in the whole wide world." Melinda hugged Piper

_Maybe I'm not such a bad mom after all. _She thought as they reached the others.

Shawn motioned for the girls to gather around, "I think there's something back at the house for you three, want to see what it is?" He was rewarded with a chorus of childhood ya's.

The group walked the four blocks back to the manor, as they reached the driveway Shawn noticed something big and black on the door. "Phoebe, Piper take the girls around back, I think there's a new swing set in the backyard, to replace the one that my gunner shot today." He said.

"Why not show them yourself?" Phoebe asked.

He nodded at the door.

"Gotcha." She replied. Herding the three kids towards the backyard, "Let's go see what you girls have back here." The motion detectors activated the flood lights.

"What is that thing?" Prue asked as they approached the door. Shawn had brought a bag from the garage to dispose of the 'calling card'.

"It's _Desmodus rotundus_, a vampire bat. Someone is trying to leave a message." He sniffed the air, "Whoever left this is still here. They're also very good at breaking and entering; they bypassed the alarm." Shawn pulled the 12 mm pistol from behind his back. "Stay behind me, Prue" He slowly opened the door, scanning the room.

Shawn noticed the kitchen light on. Using hand signals, he told Prue to open the swinging door and stay down.

Shawn rolled into the room, gun up and scanning for the intruder.

"Hello Shawn. Could you lower your sidearm?" An English accent asked.

Rising to his feet, "I like it just where it is Wesley. Did you ordered that attack on my family this morning?"

"Not me specifically, the council has been watching you ever since you got married; waiting for this time. You will not raise your son, we will." The watcher said. "You can save us the time and just hand over the child or the commandos will take it."

"You remember what happened the last time the council pitted me against those commandos?" Shawn simply stated. He then pulled the hammer back, "Get out of this house, before I shoot a burglar." The pistol's muzzle never moved from Wesley's forehead.

"You can't shoot me, we're on Holy ground." Wesley reminded him.

"You're wrong about that; I just can't kill you." Shawn lowered his aim until the muzzle

was pointed at Wesley's right knee.

"This isn't over yet. We will have that child!" Wesley slowly moved towards the front door. Price noticed that Shawn had set his pistol on the counter top. He turned to leave, but someone grabbed him.

"Out you go." Shawn said as he grabbed the back of the watcher's belt.

Shawn carried Wesley through the living room by the belt and collar. The Day stalker paused in the doorway, turned at the waist and tossed him onto the front lawn.

"Julie was right; 'spun and threw the bad man out.'" Prue muttered to herself.

"What was that Prue?" Shawn asked. She noticed that the bridge of his nose was wrinkled.

"Nothing, who was that jerk and what did you do to those commandos?" Prue asked as she set the coffee maker to brew.

Shawn retrieved his pistol from the counter and set the safety, "That was Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, of the Watchers Council of the Slayer. He does everything by the book; if the schedule doesn't say it's time to pee, he'll go in his pants. As to your second question, when I was 13 The Council tested me against their elite commando force. The Council wanted to see how I could do against a numerically superior force. While there was no live ammo, I would have killed 47 out of 50 in the real world."

"Wow, 47 of 50; the other 3 run faster than you?" Prue asked.

"Ya, they did. The Council knows this and that's what worries me. They might try to eliminate me so that they can get Phoebe." Shawn said, he hated talking about his past.

"What can we do to prevent that from happening?" Prue asked as the coffee dripped.

Shaking his head, "I can't say for sure. Just watch each other's backs."

Thursday August, 30th ,about 7:45 AM 

The phone rang; Phoebe answered it between the rings. The number was unlisted on the display unit.

"Hello."

"Dr. Phoebe Wolff, Please." A male voice asked.

"Speaking,?" She answered.

"This is Dean Silver, head of the Mythology Department. Your contemporary urban mythology lecture was not covered yesterday. Why?" The older man asked.

"I called in sick and told my assistant to cover, even told Chance where my notes were. I don't understand what happened." She said, a touch of panic rose in her mind.

"Well, no one was in the class lecturing. You know this is not going to look good on your review; which is coming up in six weeks." The threat was clear; be at class or you're out. "I'll see you in class tomorrow. Good day." The line went dead.

"You okay, honey?" Shawn walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist.

Hanging up the phone, "No! I am not okay! The Dean of Mythology just called and told me that no one was in class yesterday and he implied that if that ever happens again, I'm fired." She buried he face in Shawn's chest. "You did call Chance yesterday?" Tears were forming in her eyes.

"Right after I left here for Buckland's; Willow even heard the call. I think I need to talk to that boy again." He lifted the receiver and dialed the number from memory.

"Hello." A woman's voice answered.

"Chance Dunlow." Shawn asked.

Mumbled conversations could be heard in the background, "Hello, who's this?" A man's voice asked.

"Chance, this is Shawn Wolff." He paused, "Phoebe's husband. How was class yesterday?"

"The lecture went great. Found the notes and everything." He lied.

"That's not what Dean Silver just told Phoebe, Chance. He told her that no one was there and that if it ever happened again, she's getting fired. Now, contrary to my normal pattern, I'm giving you a break, but, do not mistake my kindness for weakness. If we have to have this conversation again, my next call is to the dean and we're going to have a nice long talk what happened to that missing money from the departmental fund raiser last fall. How much did the police say was missing? $15,000 was it." Shawn was one of only two people who knew where the money was.

"You can't threaten me, buddy. You got no proof." Chance shouted into the phone.

Shawn recited the account number.

Chance was sweating bullets on his end of the line, "How did you get that number?"

"I got it from the bank. How's that for proof." Shawn said, he didn't bluff much.

-click-

Chance hung up.

"I think he's going to call the dean and tell him I was harassing him. I'm e-mailing Dean Silver the file on Dunlow.

"Huh? What money? Shawn, did you do something illegal?" Phoebe asked.

"No, but he did. The bank asked us to check the system integrity against an outside attack. I found that account and noticed the large deposit the day after the fund raiser." Shawn had all the records to backup his position. He showed her the files.

"That could ruin his career. Do you really want that?" Phoebe asked.

"No, but I also don't want you to lose your job because of his mistakes." Shawn logged on to the desktop system and sent the e-mails out. "Done."

"I think I'm getting over my morning sickness, I'm hungry. What are we having for breakfast, dad?" She grabbed his towel playfully.

"Anything you want." Shawn turned and wrapped his arms around Phoebe, kissing her softly. Just then, the phone rang.

"Damn." Phoebe muttered as she checked the number display. "What's up Piper?"

"Have you seen Melinda? She wasn't in her room this morning and her bed doesn't look like it was slept in. What if those watchers took her?" Piper was nearly hysterical.

Phoebe relayed the message to Shawn, who hit the speakerphone button. "Ask FIDOS if there were any break-ins." There was talking in the background. FIDOS was short for Foreign Intruder Defense Operating System.

Piper's voice was less stressed, "It said no, but one man did enter using a key; Leo. He left a message, reminding me that today was his day with Melinda. Phoebe, I'm sorry for calling over nothing." She hung up the phone.

"I'm going over there to make sure her head doesn't explode."

"Where were we doctor?" Shawn began kissing Phoebe again. The phone interrupted them.

"Hello." She said.

"Dr. Wolff, this is Dr Silver again. Is your husband there?" The dean asked.

"Hold on a moment." She handed over the headset.

"Wolff."

"Mr. Wolff, this is Dean Silver. I just finished reading through the e-mail you sent me. Is this true? Chance Dunlow embezzled over $15,000 from the department." The dean's tone was that of a disbelieving parent, "I've known him for over six years; he was an undergraduate research assistant his sophomore year."

"You can call the bank and confirm the dates and amounts of the deposits, but you'll probably need the police and a search warrant for that. I taught an elective course there last year on the legality of electronic searches on private databases. It was a joint class between the College of Law and the CIS Department." Shawn had many skills.

"We'll keep in touch, because if this is untrue, The Dunlow's will most likely sue you for slander. Good day." The line went dead.

"I am really not liking that man. Is he always a prick?" Shawn said; Phoebe laughed out loud.

"Yes, but he's also doing the academic review of my class in six weeks." She was pulling on a short sleeve tee shirt that matched her jeans.

"Tell Piper I said hi, and to set FIDOS to give messages when someone walks into the kitchen." Shawn was selecting a casual dress shirt to go with his Khakis. Being the CEO, he could dress down and blend in better, in the relaxed office environment.

About 2:30 PM, outside an office building 

"Thanks for coming with me Phoebe." Piper looked nervously at the twenty seven story building. "I'm scared."

"About what?" Phoebe asked.

"What if they want to lock me up in an asylum or pump me full of mind numbing drugs?" Piper was fighting back tears. "What's going to happen to Melinda if they say I'm unfit to be a mother?"

"Leo would take her until you got out, but that's not going to happen. Relax Piper, you're going to hyperventilate." Phoebe said trying to calm her sister down.

Taking a deep breath, "Sorry Pheebs, I'm being paranoid." She caught herself, "I'm paranoid about going to a psychologist's office, not a good sign."

"You're going there because you're too stressed, not because you're paranoid." Phoebe said, then caught herself. "Not that you're paranoid. You want me to wait in the reception area till you're done?" Phoebe asked.

"Could you wait? I'll get you some chips and soda while you wait. Then we'll go shopping." Piper headed towards the gift shop/ snack bar in lobby of the building.

"Fruit juice, no pop, and anything with ranch flavor." Phoebe instructed.

"May I help you?" The receptionist asked.

"I have a 3:00 appointment with Sue." Piper responded.

Checking the appointment book "Ms. Halliwell?" Piper nodded, "I just need you to fill out this form, please. The doctor will be with you and a minute." The receptionist handed her a clipboard, and indicated to take a seat in the waiting room. Piper started on the form; Phoebe started on the chips.

"Hungry?" Piper asked.

Pausing from her snack, "This is the first day in over a month that I've been able to keep food down, so I'm enjoying it while I can. I seem to recall you put away more than a few snacks." Phoebe went back to her chips.

"You've got me there. I ate quite a bit." She continued filling out the form.

After returning the completed form to the receptionist, Piper sat down and selected a magazine to read. It was the new issue of "_Toast of the town_"; it had a short article about her rise to success.

"3:00 PM, the doctor will see now." The receptionist said. They didn't use names, just the appointment times.

Piper followed the woman into the inner offices; she was impressed with the rich wood paneling. Sue was sitting in one of the high back leather chairs. She appeared to be in her early 50's, with platinum blond hair. The one wall, opposite the desk, was a floor to ceiling window. The wall behind the desk was covered in degrees, diplomas, and awards of various types. The third and forth walls was lined with book cases; covering every subject from astrology to theoretical physics. Piper noticed that the large mahogany desk was covered with papers and a flat screen monitor. She was glad she had worn flats, the thick carpeting would've made heels impossible.

"Hello, I'm Sue." The woman said, extending her right hand.

Piper shook her hand, "Piper Halliwell, and I'm not crazy." She blurted out.

"If you say so, but I understand your little stressed out." She looked at Piper for a second. "P3 Piper Halliwell?"

"Ya, that's me. I'd really appreciated if you would keep his quite please. If the tabloids get wind of it, that would really hurt my business." She asked.

"I can only talk about these sessions if subpoenaed to appear in court or if your next of kin signs a release. So if you don't say anything I won't say anything." She reassured Piper.

"I'm just a little nervous. I haven't seen a counselor in almost ten years." Piper explained.

Pulling out a pen and notepad, "Would you care to elaborate on that?"

Piper began the story of the pills and the demon; her marriage to Leo and the ensuing divorce. Sue merely took notes and asked an occasional question.

By the end of the hour, Sue had filled over five pages in her notepad; Piper was emotionally drained. She wiped her eyes as Sue spoke.

"I think you need a vacation. You have more than enough help to run the clubs and you've said that you want to spend more time with your daughter. Just tell the managers that you're going out of town and that one of your sisters are in charge until you return." Sue said.

"I couldn't do that to my sisters. Prue's too busy with her photography and Phoebe has the review board breathing down her neck and the baby on the way. It wouldn't work." Piper shook her head.

"It's either that, or I prescribe some anti-depressants, a sedative to help you sleep, and some anti-anxiety medications. Your choice." Sue reached for her prescription pad.

"I hear that Arizona is lovely this time of year." Piper said, not wanting to take the pills.

"I'll see you when you get back. Stop by the front desk and Shelly will make the appointment."

"Thank you." Piper rose from her seat. "Shawn says hello."

"Tell him thank you for the computer." She motioned toward the desk. "Top of the line. 20 gigahertz, 100 gigabyte of ram, 1 terabyte hard drive, a T7 line into the office, and a DVD burner."

"He knows his computers. You should see the one he has at home." Piper noted.

"Ready to go Pheebs?" Piper asked as she entered the reception area.

"Yep, can we stop and get something to eat?" Phoebe responded, rising from her chair.

"I'm cooking tonight, what would you like?" She asked, getting her car keys out.

"Anything with meat in it." Phoebe said. "Like steak or meatloaf or burgers."

"You're becoming quite the carnivore." The elevator was empty, except for the two of them. "Would you like a glass of pan drippings with it?" Piper tried to joke.

"I am not a vampire!" Phoebe blew up. Taking a deep breath "I'm sorry Piper. I just lost it for a minute"

"It's okay, I haven't been too nice lately either. Besides, it was a lame joke." Piper laughed at herself.

"What are we doing tonight? Gunfight in the street?" Phoebe asked, sounding serious.

"Nah, we did that yesterday. I need to check out P3 light, after I pick up Melinda from Leo's. The books don't look right." Piper said. P3 light was the nickname for the under 21 club she owned.

That night, about 9:00 

"Excuse me miss. You can't bring your child into this club. This is for people ages 10-21." The bouncer said.

"I'm the boss?" Piper asked.

"I still need to see ID?" He instructed.

"Piper! How you doing?" Chad asked as he shouldered the bouncer out of the way.

"You're doing a great job." Piper shouted to the bouncer over the music. She turned to Chad, "Where's Greg, I want to talk to him?"  
"In the office, you want me to watch Melinda?" He asked as he served Melinda a glass of fruit punch.

"Please, I don't want her to hear this." Piper leaned close to him.

"Thank you, uncle Chad." Melinda said sipping the punch.

"Greg, I want to see the books for the last four weeks." Piper demanded as she entered the office.

"Okay." He handed over a ledger. "Here you go."

Piper looked at the book and then threw it on the floor. "Now, show me the real one." He looked at her in shock. "I had the bank send me a weekly statement when I started the clubs. I noticed about a month ago that the numbers didn't match. I figured that someone was cooking the books."

Greg opened his mouth to refute the allegations. "Be quite! You have stolen from me and my family. Clean out your desk, you're fired. And don't ask for a reference."  
"You can't fire me without proof!" Greg shouted.

Giving him 'The Stare', "You want to call the police and file wrongful termination against me? Go ahead, the phone's right there." She called his bluff.

"Bitch." He muttered under his breath as he began to collect his personal affects.

"That's Ms. Bitch to you. You will pay back every penny you stole. I figured that amount to be about $2200.00." Piper was laying down the law.

"I don't have that kind of money." Greg cried out.

Turning to leave, "That's not my problem. You are out of here."

15 minutes later 

Piper had called for a bouncer to escort Greg out of the building. She stopped at the 'bar' to get Melinda. "Chad, are you still interested in the general manager position?"

"Sure, but all of 'em are filled, right?" He looked at her.

"One just came open, you want the job?" She wasn't in the mood to beat around the bush.

"Yes." He said.

Piper sat down next to Melinda, "Congratulations, you're the new manager. I need something to drink. Do we have anything stronger than fruit juice?"

"No, remember this is the under 21 club." Chad handed her a virgin strawberry Daiquiri.

"Thank god I'm starting my vacation tomorrow." Piper sighed. "So, Melinda what did you and daddy do today?"

"We went to the amusement park." She sipped her fruit punch. "He loves the roller coasters."

"Piper, have you had diner yet?" Chad asked.

"I had a quick bite about five. I was going to grab take-out Chinese on the way home." She sighed. "I hate having to be the bad guy, but he was stealing from here."

"Tell you what, let me check with the manager and see if I can get the rest of the night off. I'll take you and Melinda to diner. Anywhere you want."

"You're the manager, silly." Melinda laughed.

"That's right, I give myself the night off to help the boss get over her guilt." Chad said. "No strings attached. What do you say Piper."

"Pizza sound good to everyone?" She asked.

"Mommy!" Julie screamed.

Running into the room, "What's the matter?" Prue tried to comfort the scared child. "Everything's alright."

"Strange man Aunt Piper's house." She said.

Shawn and Phoebe caught the last line as they entered the room. "Check it Phoebe." Shawn said as he pulled a pistol from behind his back, and looked out the window at the manor. Phoebe could 'see' other places in her mind. The porch light was on, as was the living room. The living room light went off. There, in the upstairs bedroom, movement.

"Phoebe check her bedroom, I see two adult size people in it." Shawn helped narrow the search. "It looks like the intruder just threw her down." Shawn was about to head out.

"Hold it, False alarm. Julie, good catch on the man, but he's one of Aunt Piper's bartenders, so they're talking about the clubs." She gave the toddler a goodnight kiss. "Sleep tight."

The three adults returned to the living room. "Alright Prue, back to this power breathing. Does it really work?"

"It worked long enough for the doctor gave me my epidural. It gives you something to focus on besides the pain." Prue was wearing a white T-shirt with the word 'coach' in black letters on the front. "What was Piper doing?"

"Keeping employee moral up." Phoebe grinned, then burst out laughing.

"Huh?" Prue asked.

"Use your imagination, Prue." Shawn laughed.

After a short pause, "Whoa, could anyone else use a cold drink?"

The morning after. 

"Hey Chad, what's up?" Shawn said as he walking into the kitchen. 'Phoebe left some of her textbooks here yesterday. A little early to be over for a business meeting?"

"Well, Piper fired Greg last night and promoted me to manager, so I though I should get an idea of how she does things in the office." He replied.

"You've been with her since the first club. Just now learning how to run one?" Shawn turned the coffee maker on.

"Actually, yes. I spent those years behind the bar." Chad answered.

Piper unexpectedly walked in. She was wearing a robe and slippers. Shawn quickly turned his gaze. "Morning Piper."

"Shawn, give me a heart attack. What are you doing here?" She quickly pulled her robe tighter.

"Just getting Phoebe's books. Talk to you later." He left quickly.

"Morning Piper." Prue said, as she walked in. "So, what do me and Phoebe do while you're gone?"

"Just make the nightly pick-ups from the clubs, count it and make the deposits. The managers will handle the day-to-day operations, but you two have the final say on everything. I've already informed Chad, he's the new manager at P3 light, and I'll tell the others today." Piper sipped her coffee.

"Was Chad over here last night? Julie woke up screaming about a strange man attacking you in your bedroom." Prue asked.

"Ya, He took me and Melinda out to diner." Piper answered. "I was feeling bad about firing Greg, even though he was cooking the books. Then he brought me back here after we dropped Melinda and her suitcase off at her dad's. Leo has her for the next month."

"Well?" Prue was prying.

"Well what? He conducted himself like a gentleman." Piper tried to hide her blushing.

"In your bedroom? This is me you're talking to. Try again."

"Alright, I invited him in for a drink and then…" Piper grinned.

"And?" Prue was still prying.

Cracking a nervous smile, "I was really out of practice and I had the same problem that I had the first time with Leo. I froze him."

"No way. I thought you had that under control?"

"It's been almost two years since me and Leo,… you know."

"I had no idea that your marriage was that bad. I hope that this relationship works out better."

"So do I." Piper added.

"Isn't that against company policy? Managers dating the owner." Prue joked.

"Remind me to revise the employee handbook."

"You can do it after your vacation. Have fun. Will you be back when Leo's time is up?"

"Yep, and if there's any problems with the clubs, you have my cell number." Piper grabbed her suitcase and headed for the door. "Oh, give this to Phoebe." She handed Prue an unsealed envelope.

"What's this? A 'Thanks for not killing Cal Greene' Card." Prue said after pulling the card out.

"Remember what today is?" Prue shook her head. "Think cook out, Phoebe being the guest of Honor." The light went on in Prue's head.

"Oh my God, is that today?" Piper nodded. "I totally forgot. How could I forget the day our sister doesn't kill someone?"

"Well, we changed that part of history." She wiped a tear from her eye.

"You still miss Leo?" Prue asked.

Nodding, "A little. I really miss the man he was. He had gotten spiteful and petty before we divorced." She paused, "Is that bad?"

"I still miss Andy every now and then. That was almost nine years ago." Prue tried to comfort her sister. "Now, get out there and enjoy your vacation. Is Chad going with you?" Prue inquired.

"He said that he'd join me and Melinda next month, if I want." Piper responded. "I think I want." She laughed.

"Could it be? Could Piper be falling in love?" Prue playfully ribbed her sister.

"I wasn't really looking, but it just sort of found me. Does that make any sense?" Piper asked.

"That's how Phoebe found Shawn. Not looking in your club."

"I'll call you later, see how you first day went. I'm off to find and loose myself. My flight to Hawaii leaves at 4:05, could you drop me off at the airport?" Piper asked.

"Which gate?"

October 27th , 2007, evening 

"Shawn, have you heard from Piper? She was supposed to be back in town today." Phoebe asked as she tried on another shirt. She was starting to show and didn't like the way anything looked on her. Shawn was taking the newest professor out to celebrate.

"Not yet, but remember She's getting back from her first vacation in over eight years. You want to borrow one of my shirts?" He asked.

"Sure, I'm getting too fat to wear my clothes." She was said.

"For the hundredth time, you are not fat; the baby's growing." Shawn was running out of ways to say that to her.

The two heard a car pull into the driveway. The driver never shut the door.

"SHAWN!!!! They took Melinda!" Piper yelled as she entered the house. "They took my baby!"

Running down the stairs, "Who, where, when, and how?" He was all business. He noticed Chad stumble in the door, Shawn immediately knew that they had been drugged.

"The watchers… blocked the road …outside the city and…" Piper was hyperventilating and crying. "And they used dart guns on us. Chad tried to stop them, but they shot him again. The last thing I saw was them loading her into a black van." She buried her face into Phoebe's chest. "They left this note." She handed over a folded piece of paper.

If you want to see the child 

_Bring the woman and unborn_

_We will call with time and location._

Shawn dialed a number, "Willow, what are you doing?"

"I was…" Shawn cut her off.

"We have a code ALPHA. Activate the tracer program." He ordered.

"How are we going to find her?" Phoebe asked. Piper was sitting on the couch; arms wrapped around her knees. Chad was sitting next to her trying to comfort her.

"Each of the girls has a homing device implanted somewhere in their bodies, not even I know where. I had this done as a precaution due to the high risk life you and your sisters have. The homing devices run on bio-electric energy, so as long as Melinda's alive, the tracer's running."

"The program's running, signals are coming up. I'm getting two signals. Both at Prue's house." Willow announced over the speaker phone.

"Only two! Melinda's…" Piper began to wail.

Shawn grabbed her shoulders, "The range is only 500 meters. She's just out of range. SHE'S ALIVE."

"Are you sure?" Piper asked.

"Yes, in standby mode the range is only 500 meters. So if they're not on this street we can't find them yet; this is the only computer in the world that can read the signal. When it goes active the range increases drastically; but the catch is we have less than three minutes to find her before the transmitter burns out. I have Willow tapping into the Department of Defense Satellite network to help locate her." Shawn explained.

"We're ready." Willow stated.

"Activate." He ordered.

The time passed too slowly. Piper paced, trying to keep her mind off the possibility of Melinda being dead.

"BINGO! Found her! Lee and North street, 47th floor." Willow shouted.

"Have units stake the location. IR scopes to check all outgoing vehicles. I'm going to get her after nightfall." Shawn grabbed his car keys.

"How? You just going to walk in there and ask for her?" Piper was at the end of her rope. "Why not storm the building and get her? You have more than enough men!"

"It's not a matter of how many, but how careful. I don't want Melinda to get caught in the cross-fire or used her as a human shield. I want her back as badly as you do, but we have to out-think the watchers." Shawn tried to calm her down. "Willow, I need the keys to the Vault."

"Are you sure? It's been three years." She asked. "You remember what happened last time."

Nodding his head, "Yes I do, but this is one night only."

"Okay, I'll meet you at Securtech." Willow hung up.

"What is she talking about?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm bringing the Day Stalker out of retirement." He headed for the door.

The group stood in Shawn's private office, Prue had joined them. "I have more than just company secrets in here; I have my past life in this room. When I told Melinda that there was a demon in here, I wasn't lying. The demon is what I was to become under the watchers training." He began. "The outer doors can be opened by any number of people." He entered a code and the door clicked opened. "The inner vault has six different locking mechanisms; two mechanical, one Wiccan, and three biometrics. Only three people on earth can open those locks. Me, Willow and Phoebe; of course you could try to cut through the doors. If you have one of those new laser torches you could be in the vault in about 24 hours, and with an older model acetylene cutter it would take about five days."

Shawn and Willow took up positions on opposite sides of the door. They entered a series of numbers into the locks. A panel opened under the number pads to reveal a keyhole. The two inserted their keys and Shawn counted down.

"3-2-1-turn." The keys rotated simultaneously. A desk-like panel slid out of the right wall area.

"Willow." Shawn motioned for her to impute her access codes. The device scanned the retina, voice print and finger prints.

"Rosenberg, Willow Delta 662."

The computer beeped once and Willow stepped away. Shawn walked up to the eye piece and began the retinal scan.

"Wolff, Shawn Omega 101."

The door depressurized, but remained closed. Willow pulled a small hammer from her pocket, recited the counter spell and hit the door. It slowly opened.

"Three years ago, I had Willow seal this vault. That night, I prayed to God that I would never have to break the seal."

"Why?" Prue asked.

"I retired this part of myself the day 'The Power of Three' reunited. I was secretly helping Piper and Phoebe, when you weren't talking to them. Shawn sighed, "I knew that the power of two wouldn't be enough, so I was always in the background. I was always tired and had to follow you guys without being seen. If Willow hadn't of forced you three into talking." Shawn left it at that. "I was fighting that demon and doing my normal job; it put such a strain on me that our marriage almost didn't make it."

"What do you mean 'our marriage', you almost ate a bullet." Phoebe reminded him.

"True, but you saved me from myself." Shawn joked. "Willow, would you tell them a little about the exploits of the Day Stalker. I have to change." He entered the vault.

"About eight years ago, the vampire population of Sunnydale was preparing for an all out, winner takes all battle. Shawn and Buffy, with our help, staged a preemptive strike against the vampires. We all thought that Shawn had been killed in the final confrontation, but he survived. After that he disappeared for about a year."

"Until he walked into my club." Piper said.

"And my heart." Phoebe added.

"Yes,… and out of mine." Willow's last words were barely audible.

"What was that Willow?" Prue asked.

"Nothing." She lied.

A much deeper voice resonated from the vault, "Willow, have a VTOL ready to go in four minutes. Also, I want all other units at the building to clear out once I get there, in case I come out looking less than human." Shawn entered the office, clad in black from head to toe. His long coat flowed backwards as he walked. Shawn felt strange; he hadn't wore his 'stalker suit' in a while.

"The pilot says that there's a storm coming, you have about 20 minutes before it hits."

Willow informed them.

"Plenty of time." Shawn replied.

"Please bring Melinda back safely." Piper begged.

"I'll bring her back or I won't be back." Shawn walked out of the room, towards the roof.

After Shawn left, Leo orbed into the room. "I just heard about Melinda, are you okay?"

"I feel so helpless." Piper hugged her ex-husband. "Can't you orb in and get her?"

"No, I was ordered not to interfere as this is mortal being doing."

"Hi, I'm Chad." He extended his right hand.

"Leo, Piper's ex-husband." The White lighter informed the human. "Moving on are you?" Leo taunted. "Were you dating him while we were married?"

"No, I was faithful, we're you?" Piper replied. Chad noticed the anger between the two.

"I'm worried about Shawn." Willow cut in.

"You should be. I found out that he's been cursed." Leo stated. "The curse will cause the repression of his human side. As he 'deals' with the watchers; he'll become more and more of a predator."

"Will he hurt Melinda?" Piper asked.

"Not likely. By the time he finds her, the only thought running though his primitive mind will be 'Save Melinda.'" Leo hung his head. "Phoebe, you may become a widow tonight. We may have to put him down." Leo saw the stunned expression on Phoebe's face, "Don't worry, we would never ask you to do it. We're preparing a unit of Archangels; they're the assassins of the White lighters."

"WHAT? You mean kill Shawn?" Phoebe was almost speechless. "There has to be some way to save him."

"If you can get to him first, there might be a chance. Here's the counter spell." Leo said, handing over a piece of paper.

Phoebe ran for the door. " Let's go, we'll meet him at the front door of the Watcher's building."

Shawn stood by the rear door of the VTOL as it hovered over the sixty story building.

"We'll be over the target in 5-4-3-2-1 mark." The pilot announced over the radio headset.

Shawn stepped out of the door and into the night. He had never bungee jumped from the Vertical Take-Off and Landing aircraft in the real world, just the jump tower. He had to time the landing perfectly; if he pulled he cord release too soon, he would fall and break his legs. If he pulled too late, he would be thrown back up into the body of the plane.

Shawn pulled the cord three feet off the roof and rolled to absorb the landing. The airplane vectored its engines and flew away, unnoticed. Shawn quickly picked the lock and entered the building. There were two men guarding the stairwell; he dispatched them with cold efficiently. Silently, he made his way through the halls and watchers.

"Where the bloody hell are the guards? Try the radio again." Wesley was pacing. More than half of the security details had failed to check in. As he stood in a doorway between offices, he felt the presence behind him before the knife was pressed to his throat. The voice meant business.

"Melinda Halliwell." The question was simple.

"Three doors down on the left." Wesley answered, hoping to escape with his life.

The four men who were in the room heard Wesley's voice and turned to see who he was talking to. They saw the blade at the lead watchers throat, but were unsure what to do.

Shawn made the choice for them, "Walk." He ordered.

Wesley took a slow step forward, Shawn kept behind him. As they approached the grouping of guards, Wesley felt a shove from behind. Shawn dropped the knife and grabbed the nearest guard's forearm; executing a perfect hip-throw. Another man charged the Day Stalker, only to meet a front snap kick to the jaw. The remaining two men began firing at the enraged half-vampire; their aim was off due to their excitement. Shawn dove behind a sofa, trying to figure a way out of this shooting gallery. He drew two stakes from the bandoleer across his chest and as the watchers paused to reload, he threw. Neither man saw the event that ended their lives. Wesley thought about going for one of the fallen guns, but decided against that when he saw Shawn's face.

His eyes burned with cold hatred. His face was fully changed into that of a vampire.

Melinda sat in the corner of the cell; crying and scared. The solid steel door was too heavy for her to open with her mind and she lacked the control to pop the lock. She heard fighting outside the cell and then a kick to the door. A few more well placed kicks and the door finally swung inward. A strange looking man entered the room; his nose and forehead were rippled and he had long canine teeth. He spoke to her.

"Me-lin-da." His devolved vocabulary said. He opened his arms and knelt down. She was frightened by the man's face, but felt like she knew him. Slowly, she approached and let him pick her up. Quickly, he began to race down the halls and stairs; avoiding the guards. The pair were in the lobby before the watchers could find them. Wesley ordered the men to shoot at Shawn's legs so they could capture him alive. He began zigzagging to avoid the bullets. With Melinda's head near his left shoulder, Shawn pulled his coat over her face and turned to the right. Never slowing, he plowed through the glass door. The watchers followed them outside, still firing. Piper froze them; Shawn was also stopped in mid stride; Melinda was seen wiggling in Shawn's arms, trying to get free. Piper unfroze Shawn and her daughter.

"Oh Melinda, I was so worried." Piper hugged her child. She was joined by Chad.

The cursed Shawn turned back towards the building and his tormenters. Phoebe intercepted him.

"Shawn, it's me. Phoebe." She grabbed his arm.

He turned and looked at her, she tried to hide her shock at his appearance. "Ph-Phoe-be." His devolved brain tried to recognize her.

"Yes, Phoebe. Remember me, and you child." She placed his hand on her stomach.

The beast's face softened somewhat. "Phoebe, my child?" He was slowly beginning to regain his human mind.

Prue was in the background, snapping pictures. She saw Wesley raise a pistol and aim it at Phoebe. "Look out!" She yelled, just before he fired.

Shawn's enhanced reflexes allowed him to push Phoebe out of the way, but put him in the line of fire.

"Shawn!" Phoebe turned towards the gunman. She reached out with her mind. "Drop the gun!"

Wesley complied. He was the only person who could hear her. "You will leave the country, never return, and leave my family alone. Do you understand?" She used her active mind control powers.

"Yes, I understand." Wesley turned and walked away.

She then heard a bellow of pure rage behind her. Shawn, ignoring his wounds, had reverted back to beast form. "Piper, Freeze him!" She yelled.

She so did without thinking. The three sisters formed a circle around the beast-man and began the spell.

Evil placed on thy 

_Go now_

_Let this soul be free._

When they finished Piper unfroze him.

Almost immediately, he turned back into human form. He collapsed to the ground.

"That monster was Uncle Shawn?" Melinda asked, still holding on to her mother.

"Yes and no. The bad men turned him into a monster." Piper responded. "How is he?"

"The bullets missed his heart. I'm not sure how bad the rest of the wounds are. He took two or three shots to the legs and this blood is really red. Steve would know better than me." Prue gave a cursory evaluation. "Ambulance is on the way." She was closing her cell phone. She stepped out of the way; Phoebe knelt beside her fallen husband. Prue didn't realize that she had pressed the shutter button on her camera. Leo orbed in and found Piper being held by Chad.

Looking at Leo, She asked. "Can't you do something for him? He just saved our daughter."

"I was ordered not to help that beast. The **Powers That Be** said that his fate has been sealed by his actions." Leo began to orb away.

"Hold it!" Phoebe shouted, stopping Leo's escape. "What did he do that was so bad?"

"He's responsible for the deaths of over 2000 beings. Mostly vampires, and demons, but the were a couple of hundred humans in the body count." Leo stated. "Still think he's worth saving?" He orbed out before anyone could answer.

"Yes, I do." Phoebe whispered. She had a plan, "Piper, freeze him, just him."

Before she could, Shawn spoke; his voice harsh and raspy. "No… personal gain." He coughed up blood.

"I don't care about the consequences. I care about you." Phoebe's tears fell on Shawn's face. "Piper, freeze him, please." She pleaded.

"Phoebe, I can't." She lowered her head. "I want to save him, but he said not to. Remember what happened last time we used our powers to save someone we loved?"

"When was that?" Prue asked.

"When I was sick with that fever. We caused six other people to catch it and I almost died." Piper retold the story.

"Phoebe," Shawn could barely speak. "I …love… you."

"I love you too." She whispered back. His eyes closed and his muscles went slack.

"NOOOOO!" Phoebe was cradling Shawn head in her lap. Melinda walked over to Phoebe and put her small hand on her Aunt's shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Was all she could say.

"This is all my fault. I should have listened to you." Piper said as tears formed in her eyes.

"No, he chose this path." Phoebe said.

The siren could be heard in the background as the rain began to fall.

"Willow," The voice on the line didn't sound right, "It's Prue. I need you to bring the twins to Mount Zion Medical Center, fast. Shawn might not make it through the night." The line went dead.

Across town, Willow hit a speed dial button. "Motor pool, I need a four door with two car seats ready to go NOW! Authorization code, Delta 662. Rosenberg, Willow." She turned to the couch where the girls were sleeping. "Julie, Jenny, I need you two to get up for a minute." The twins stirred and stretched

"What?" Jennifer asked.

"Your mommy needs you two to come with me. Uncle Shawn got hurt." She helped them put on their jackets and shoes. She was thankful that Shawn had an express elevator installed.

"How is he?" Willow asked; half carrying, half dragging the twins.

"He's in grave condition; they rushed him into surgery as soon as they got here. The doctor asked which religion he was, so he could get a priest." Piper said, then she broke down crying.

"How's Phoebe and Melinda?" Willow asked.

"Melinda's shaken up a bit by the kidnapping." Prue said. "Phoebe, she's not doing too well. She hasn't done anything but stare out the window."

Willow slowly walked over to Phoebe, not knowing what to say. "You okay?" She finally asked.

"I don't know. I'm numb right now." Phoebe replied.

"I know how much you love Shawn. I love him too. He saved my life twice; I owe him more than I could ever repay." Willow said.  
"Twice?" Phoebe looked at Willow.

"The second time was when I was on the streets and a drunk. He got me into rehab." Willow had to stop for a moment. "The first time was in Sunnydale. I had been bitten by a vampire and was slowly becoming one." Willow wiped a tear from her eye. "He used an ancient cure that required some of his blood."

"I never knew." Phoebe said.

"We, Shawn and I, agreed never to talk about it. I don't think he'd mind if I tell you." Willow said. "You are so lucky, because you have a man like Shawn as your husband. I wish I had someone like him."

"You'll find someone."

"I wanted Shawn." Willow whispered.

"What?" Phoebe turned to face Willow.

"You never knew? I loved Shawn a long time ago, I guess I still do. He helped me more than any other person I know. I don't think he knows how much he still means to me; sometimes, I wish I were you." Willow wiped the tear from her eye.

"Why didn't you tell him?" Phoebe asked.

"And say what, 'Hey Shawn, I still love you after all these years.'" Willow was becoming unglued.

"I guess that would be weird?"

"Besides, you two have a life together. I'm just the friend and assistant." Willow began to cry. Then she hit the window in anger. "He's helped me so many times and I can't do anything for him when he needs me. I HATE being helpless!" Willow vented. "I still don't know why he did it? Helped me, that is. I was a drunk out on the streets. He drove all the way up to Sunnydale and got me cleaned up."

"Because he can. Shawn helps those who need it." Phoebe informed her.  
"If there's anything I can do to help, just asked." Phoebe thanked her.

The two women stood there, looking out he window at the rain. Willow thought it looked like the heavens were weeping for their fallen friend.

"Mrs. Wolff?" The doctor asked.

"Yes, is Shawn alright?" Phoebe asked, jumping to her feet.

"He's in the ICU right now. We've done everything we can. It's all up to him now. I wish I could give you better news, but we almost lost him on the table twice. If he makes it through the next 96 hours, he'll make it. I can let one of you in at a time to see him." The doctor told them.

"Go on Pheebs." Piper said.

The doctor led her through the halls to the intensive care unit. "He's unconscious, but he might still hear you." He said.

Phoebe waited for the doctor to leave. "Shawn, If you can hear me, listen up. You've never backed away from a fight in your life, and I don't think you're going to start now. I need you, I need your help raising our child. Don't leave us alone, Please." She begged of the sleeping man. She rose and turned to leave, noting the heart monitor beeped a little faster when she spoke.

Returning to the waiting area, a nurse took Piper and Melinda into the room.

Melinda looked up at her mom, "Is Uncle Shawn going to Heaven with grandma and the other good people?"

"Someday, I hope, but not right now."

Next, Prue and the twins went in.

Finally, Willow saw her fallen boss and friend.

Phoebe stood in a dark mist, not seeing anyone else. Calling out, she heard one voice.

"Hello, dearest Phoebe."

"Shawn!" She embraced him. "I thought I lost you." She was crying.

"Phoebe, I'm tired." Shawn slumped slightly, "I'm so tired; tired of the fighting and the killing. I hope that I'm leaving our child a better world than I was left. I'll miss you."

"No, Shawn." Phoebe shed tears of anger. "Don't talk like that. You are not leaving me."

"I will never leave you, no matter what happens. I'll always be right here." He placed his hand over her heart. "Phoebe, I'm sorry." He stepped away from her and she noticed his eyes were black.

"Shawn, don't leave me!" She called out to the retreating figure.

She could barely hear his final request; "Ask Willow if I've redeemed myself?"

"Shawn." She jerked awake.

Prue was sitting there with her in the waiting room. "What's wrong?" The oldest sister asked.

Out of breath, "Shawn… told me…he's sorry." Phoebe broke down.

In the background, a code blue was sounding on room 7, Shawn's room.

"No!" Phoebe buried her face into Prue's shoulder. Holding Phoebe, Prue waited.

"Mrs. Wolff, we got your husband stabilized." The trauma specialist reported. "You should get some rest. He's in the best hands possible."

"Thank you." She said. After the doctor left, she turned to Prue. "He told me a long time ago that he has his will in his office."

"Later, right now you need some sleep. You're not thinking clearly." Prue responded.

"I'm thinking clearer now than ever before in my life. Now, tomorrow when the building opens," Prue cut her off.

"Tomorrow's Sunday. Nobody's going to be there." Prue said. "Let's go home, They'll call us if anything happens."

"I'm not going anywhere." Phoebe stated, her tone conveyed her attitude.

"Here we go, tea all around." Piper said carrying a thermos. "Willow's staying with the kids."

"When did you have time to make tea?" Phoebe asked.

"Since you fell asleep two hours ago." She poured a glass of tea for Phoebe and Prue. Phoebe didn't notice that neither one of her sisters were drinking the tea.

"This is good," She stifled a yawn, "Is this some of your herbal…" Phoebe fell asleep.

"She's not leaving she said." Prue told her sister.

"Not willingly, how mad do you think she'll be?" Piper asked as Prue levitated the sleeping woman to a standing position. None of the staff paid much attention to the three women leaving.

One set of eyes tracked their movement with great interest.

Phoebe awoke in her old bed, in the manor. "Prue! Piper!" she immediately regretted yelling. Her head throbbed.

"You called." Piper tried to joke.

"What the hell did you two do to me?" She sat up in bed.

"Sorry, but we drugged you and brought you home. You were a wreck and in no condition to do anyone any good."

"Look here Piper, you may be older and think your wiser than me, but I am not running out on my husband, like your ex did." The anger and pain could be heard in every word.

"He doesn't know the real Shawn like we do. All he knows is what he's told." Piper said. "Leo thinks that Shawn's trying to take over the house. He doesn't trust Shawn at all."

"Why did you two think that you had to drug me?" Phoebe was upset.

"You never would of left otherwise. Remember, you have to think about more than yourself now." Piper touched Phoebe's swelling abdomen. Her hand stayed there for a minute. "You are so lucky. I wish I had a husband like Shawn."

"Why does everyone want my husband? First Willow, and now you?" Phoebe laughed. "You really think it's going to be a girl?"

"Look at the history; in over 250 years there has never been a son in the blood line." Piper said.

"There's never been a Day Stalker in it either." Phoebe countered.

"True." Piper sighed. "I want another child."

"Have a little faith. Chad would make a good father. Plus, I'll be asking you about everything the baby does." Phoebe tried to cheer Piper up. Her anger forgotten for the moment, "Thanks for watching out for me. I was so worried about Shawn that I forgot about Jr.. What did I do to get such great sisters?" Phoebe held out her arms for a hug. The two shared a sisterly moment, "Although, I'm still pissed off at you two for tricking me."

"You want something to eat?" I made pancakes and sausage." Piper said.

"Did the kids leave me any?" She asked, trying to find some cloths that fit.

"Plenty," Pulling out a duffel bag, "Prue dropped these off this morning. She stopped by your house, you know how long that drive was." That was an inside joke; Prue and Phoebe owned the houses on each side of the manor.

She pulled out a short sleeve causal dress shirt. It was white with a pale green collar. "This is Shawn's." Phoebe said thinking about the shirt's owner before she put it on. "It's his favorite, I got it for him last Christmas." She hugged herself through the shirt.

"The hospital called this morning," Piper started.

"Oh-no." Tears began in her hazel eyes.

"No, he's fine. In fact, he's been upgraded to guarded condition. I know that doesn't sound good, but it is." Piper said.

"When's visiting hours?"

"In about an hour." Piper said. "I'll let you finish getting dressed."

"I'll be downstairs in a few minutes." She pulled out some dress pants.

After Piper left Phoebe broke down. Crying, she never heard her young visitor enter.

Julie slowly walked to her aunt, and held out the pancake she had bitten into. Phoebe looked up and was surprised by the offering. She began to laugh through her tears.

"Hungry?" Julie asked. "I cry when I hungry."

"Thank you." Phoebe tore the pancake in half and gave the larger portion back. "I miss your Uncle Shawn."

"Me too, he the goodest uncle." Julie laughed.

Phoebe was sitting beside Shawn, who was still unconscious. Suddenly, she heard boots marching down the hall. Three large, heavily armed men entered the room.

"You two, Outside the door." The point man ordered. She was about to protest, when she noticed they had on uniforms from Securtech. "Sorry to startle you, Mrs. Wolff. Willow sent us. She told us that Shawn was hurt pretty bad." Looking at their fallen boss, he whispered "I guess the old man can still do the job."

"It's okay, I'm glad you guys are here. I'm going to get something to eat, you want anything?" She rose.

"No thank you."

Dialing her cell phone, "Willow, its Phoebe. He's been upgraded to guarded, they say it's an improvement. I need to ask you something, I saw him in a dream last night and he asked me to do something. He wants me to ask you if he's redeemed himself? What is he talking about?"

"During the Sunnydale battle, we asked him about the plan and what would happen if something went wrong. He said that Buffy would make it out, but never mentioned himself. He didn't care about dying, he felt that he had to make up for all the bad things he'd done in his life." Willow paused, the memories were not pleasant. "I asked him what he had done that was so bad. His answer was that he'd been born."

"Has he?"

"Yes, yes he has."

She returned to find the men holding an orderly at gunpoint. "What's going on?" She asked.

"This man doesn't have an ID badge and is not on the staff list for the ICU." Frost told her.

"Did you check with his supervisor?" She asked.

Frost called over his radio. A few minutes later a short woman, about Phoebe's age appeared. "I understand you have my orderly detained."

"Miss, this man has no ID and doesn't appear on any employment chart." Frost repeated the story.

"Let me see that." She took the clipboard from him. "No wonder he's not on this list. This is last months roster, he was in the children's wing last month. As for his ID, I don't know where he left it." She informed the guards.

"Sorry." He let the orderly through, the security personnel never took their eyes off him.

A week later. 

Shawn woke up in a strange room. His normally sharp mind was clouded by the haze of painkillers. Phoebe was sitting next to his bed; her face was tear streaked. In the background electronic monitors beeped and machines hissed. He felt her hand in his and squeezed gently. She looked at him and smiled through her tears; he smiled back. His vision then faded to black again.

Shawn was running through the Watcher's building, A woman was in his arms. He was just a few feet from the glass door, when Wesley stepped out from behind a desk. He raised a pistol and fired point blank at Shawn. He looked down at the woman in his arms, it was his mother, her eyes stared unblinking at the ceiling. He fell to his knees screaming.

He awoke in a private room, sweat was running down his face; he was gasping for air. Phoebe was there next to his bed, holding his hand. She leaned over and began to towel his forehead. The light coming through the window told him it was mid-morning. The wounds on his shoulder and legs were bound tightly and he had several IV tubes entering his arm. He figured that he was in the hospital.

"Mom?" He whispered. His throat was still raw from the breathing tube. The doctors had removed it the day before.

"No, it's Phoebe. It's alright Shawn." She tried to comfort him.

"Melinda?" He looked at her.

"She's alright, Shawn," Tears of joy formed in her eyes; which had dark circles under them. "How do you feel?"

"Water, please." She held the glass to his lips. "What happened? The last thing I remember was jumping from the plane and then waking up here. Where is here?"

"Mount Zion Medical Center. You were transferred up to this room from the ICU last week. We almost lost you three times. You've been in and out of consciousness all this week." She had to pause, "The reason for the memory gap is the watchers cursed you and turned you into a monster." Phoebe did her best not to hurt him as she hugged him. "I was so scared, I thought that I was going to loose you." Tears formed in her hazel eyes.

"Did I speak to you before today?" Shawn asked, his memories were still a little fuzzy.

Nodding, "You woke up yesterday for a minute, then you fell asleep again. Also, you came to me in a dream. You said you were tired of the fighting and the killing." Phoebe lowered her eyes, so he wouldn't see the pain. "Just after that… you… you went into cardiac… arrest."

"I'm sorry, I really don't remember much of that." Shawn apologized.

"It's okay." Phoebe whispered. "Willow says you've redeemed yourself."

"Huh?"

"In the dream, you wanted me to ask her if you had redeemed yourself." Phoebe explained.

"Did I get Melinda?" Shawn was still worried about his niece.

"Ya you did. She's a little shaken up by this, but she'll be okay." Phoebe fidgeted with her hands.

"You're hiding something. You're doing that hand thing." Shawn knew her better than anyone else.

"She saw you in that cursed beast form. Piper said she's having nightmares." Phoebe said.

"She's not the only one." Shawn said.

"Want to talk about it?" Phoebe asked. "You've been talking in your sleep for three days now."

Shaking his head, "Maybe later." He looked out the window, "Is she afraid of me?" He asked.

"Not really, it was the beast that she saw."

"Can I see her?" Shawn asked, not really sure if he was ready.

Standing, "Let me check." Phoebe stepped into the hallway. He heard some talking and then Melinda entered; Phoebe and Piper were right behind her.

"Hey there munchkin, how you doing?" Shawn asked weakly. He elevated the head portion of the bed.

Melinda looked at the floor, "Okay I guess. I'm having bad dreams about that night. The bad men and that monster…" She couldn't finish.

Sitting up, "I don't think the bad men will be back or that monster. You know that the monster was me right?" Shawn paused. "The bad men made me into that monster. They put a spell on me, but I still came for you. That's how much your Uncle Shawn loves you." Shawn closed his eyes for a moment. "Melinda, if you need someone to talk to I'll be here for a while, but right now, I think I need to rest."

"I love you Uncle Shawn." She tried to hug him, but couldn't reach over the tubes and cords. Shawn slid his hand out for Melinda; she gripped it.

"Love you too, munchkin." Shawn drifted off to sleep. The strength left his hand and it dropped.

"Come on, Melinda. Uncle Shawn needs to rest now, but you can see him tomorrow." Piper led her daughter out by the hand.

Prue walked in the room, Steve was beside her. "How you holding up?" She asked.

"Okay, considering in the last two weeks I've seen my husband shot and nearly killed. He was also turned into a monster. Melinda was kidnapped, terrorized by the watchers and seeing him in beast form didn't help much. Also, the department chair is pissed off at him for finding out that Chance was embezzling money from the University, plus the Dunlow's are suing him for slander and Court is in two weeks. And to top it all off, The university is only granting me one week of leave for this, So I'm using up what little vacation time I have and my sick days." Phoebe broke down. Prue held her while she let out the pain. Steve, an internal trauma surgeon, picked up Shawn's chart.

"Well, it looks like he won't be able to make the court hearing. The bullet missed the heart, but punched a big hole in his left lung. The major problem was that he was bleeding into his lungs and in effect drowning. Looks like he was about five minutes from dying."

Phoebe began to cry even harder. "Steve!" Prue gave him 'The Stare'.

"Sorry, the doctor in me. I figure he'll be released in about two or three weeks and back at work in another month. The attending will most likely put him on a rehab program to prevent the joint from stiffening." Phoebe smiled at the news.

The following Morning, about 8:15

Shawn snapped awake. He was sweating and gasping for air.

"Shh. It's alright." She toweled his forehead. His eyes looked blank and hollow "You okay?"

"Ya." He answered. "Why are you still here?"

"What kind of question is that?" Phoebe was distressed.

"I'm a monster. You saw what I'm capable of doing. I couldn't control it and someone might try to use it against you. I'll leave when I'm healed." Shawn looked out the window. "It's for your protection."

"I don't know where you were July of 2002, but I was vowing to stay with someone for the rest of my life. It sounded like this, 'For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for as long as we both shall live.' Remember that? Our wedding vows." Phoebe was venting her pain at him. "I didn't sit here and watch you almost die three times just to watch you walk out on me! I know what you are and you know what I am. You are not leaving me just because I saw the big bad Day Stalker. I deal with Warlocks, and Demons everyday. I can handle the monster in you."

"Sorry, Phoebe." Shawn looked at her, "I'm trying to protect you."

"I can take care of myself." She leaned over and kissed him. "I love you"

"I love you too." Shawn kissed her back. Shawn wrapped his good arm around Phoebe and held her. Phoebe felt wetness on her shoulder.

"What's wrong Shawn?" She had rarely seen him cry.

Drying his eyes, "I've never really had anyone depending on me like you before. All the important people in my life have been hurt because of me: Mom, Giles, Melinda and the rest of the family. I was never allowed to be a child when I was growing up. Whenever I needed to let something out I was yelled at and belittled. I had to be The** Day Stalker**; The second most important person to the Council. I wasn't even allowed at my mother's funeral." He broke down again.

Phoebe held him, she didn't know what else to do. He had always been her rock; now that rock was crumbling.

"It's okay," She whispered. "We'll get through this."

Shawn eventually fell asleep in her arms.

Two days later. 

Shawn slowly woke, noticing the IV tubes had been removed during his sleep. His next realization was that someone else was in the bed with him. He gently stroked Phoebe's hair. Shawn felt her stir, and then she looked up at him.

"Good morning." She kissed him, "Did you sleep well?"

"Like the undead. How long was I out?" He asked, feeling stiff.

"Most of the past two days. The doctor had your IV's taken out yesterday. You were healing fast." She filled in the blanks.

"I've sorry about the other day; I was having nightmares and I don't know how to deal with it."

"Relax, I understand." Quickly she changed the subject. "You missed it, Melinda was outside you room yesterday with a unit of blood from your cellar. She had it in a paper bag from that fast food place down the street. She misses her Uncle Shawn; so do the twins."

"Are they the only ones?" Shawn asked, a playful tone in his voice.

"Well, Piper and Prue miss you too." She answered. "I do, and I've barely left your side since you got here."

They laid there for a few more minutes, then Shawn spoke. "As much as I love holding you Phoebe, I have to go to the bathroom." Shawn slid his arm out from under her and slowly walked across the room.

Phoebe had to bit her tongue to keep from laughing; the hospital gown didn't completely close in the back.

"What?" Shawn heard the giggling. He looked over his shoulder and grabbed a pair of gym shorts. "You know in those action movies, the leading man has that 'Butt in the moonbeam shot'." He added a bit of a strut.

"You're not an action star, and It's almost noon." Phoebe countered. "Go put some pants on, hero."

"Minor details." He called out from the bathroom.

After he shut the door, Phoebe let the girls in and they unrolled a banner. The three children had made a giant card for him. It read 'Get well soon.' And had little pictures all over it.

"SURPRISE!!" they yelled as he exited the bathroom.

"Wow, that's the biggest card I've ever seen. Who's it for?" Shawn joked.

"You silly." The twins said as one.

Melinda walked over to him and offered him a brown paper bag. "I brought you some real food." She said.

"Thank you. You doing okay now that you're back with your mommy?" He asked.

Melinda nodded, "I'm still have dreams about the bad men, but you keep showing up to save me." She hugged him.

"Tell your mom and Aunt Prue that I'll be home soon." He pulled the unit of blood from the bag and began to drink.

"Want some?" He offered to the ladies.

The three younger girls all made faces. Phoebe was torn between her human sensibilities and the baby's raging hunger .

"Maybe later." She finally answered. Shawn could see the struggle in her eyes.

Monday November 19, 2001

"All rise, the Honorable Judge Parker presiding. Case number AB56-W7. Dunlow vs. Wolff." The bailiff announced as a middle aged woman entered the courtroom and took her seat on the bench.

"Be seated. Mr. And Mrs. Dunlow, I have read the complaint you have filed against Mr. Wolff. Both parties are agreeable to Mr. Wolff being represented by his wife, as he is in the hospital, recovering from a work related accident."

Both lawyers nodded after conferring with their respective clients.

"I also have read the motion by Mr. Wolff, that was provided to the plaintiff, that the search was legal and that your son was found guilty of embezzlement in a criminal court." The judge paused. "I am therefore granting the defendant's motion to have the case dismissed on the grounds that the slander charge is unfounded. I don't have time to hear cases of this nature; where the plaintiff is trying to get revenge through the courts. Court is adjourned." The gavel cracked and the crowd rose as the judge left the room.

That Afternoon, Halliwell Manor 

"_Happy Birthday Dear Melinda, Happy birthday to you._" The gathered family and friends sang. Melinda looked at the cake, closed her eyes and blew out the candles.

"Melinda, you have a phone call." Prue said holding up the receiver.

"Hello."

"Is this the birthday girl?" A male voice asked.

"Uncle Shawn!" Melinda screamed. "How you feeling?"

"I wish I was at the party, but the doctor wouldn't let me out yet. Aunt Phoebe has your present from the both of us. Hold on a second," She heard talking in the background. "The nurse wants me to go break more of their rehab equipment. I'll call you later, save me some cake, please."

"Bye." Melinda hung up the phone.

"How's your Uncle Shawn?" Prue asked.

"He's going to go break some stuff he said. And he wants us to save him some cake." Melinda grabbed her piece of cake.

"So how's it feel to be six?" Piper asked.

Shrugging, "Not much different than being five."

Three Months later 

"Nervous?" Shawn asked Phoebe as he held the car door open for her.

"Nope, but you should have opted for the power lumbar supports for the seats. My back is killing me." She was seven months along. "I am so fat. Shawn. How am I ever going to get my figure back?"

"You're being silly again; besides, you have another month and a half to go. So have we decided whether we want to know the sex?" He responded. "I think you look great no matter how big the baby makes you. As for your figure, you could ask Prue for that fitness instructor she hired after the twins were born."

"It's a boy. I can tell you right now." She said. "And what are you doing looking at my sister." She slapped him playfully on the arm.

"Don't beat me up. After last night I don't think I'll look at another woman again." He said quietly.

"I'm keeping you too tired to go looking at other women. It's part of my master plan." Phoebe laughed. "How good is this fitness trainer?"

"One of the best. Prue came to me asking about the trainer at work. He offered her some advice and even gave her a good deal on some classes." Shawn turned and kissed her.

"How are we this morning?" The obstetrician asked

"Other than him kicking my lungs in the middle of class, we're fine." Phoebe was unbuttoning the lower half of her blouse. Shawn helped her onto the wide lounge like chair.

"This may be a little cool." The doctor warned as he squeezed some gel onto Phoebe's swollen abdomen. "Let's have a look at your little baby." He began to move the ultrasound wand over the gel.

"How's it look?" Shawn asked, as a fuzzy image formed on the monitor.

Pulling a pen from his coat pocket, "Here's the head and there's the hand and foot." He moved the wand around some more. "You can get a better look at the hands and feet from this view. The genitals are very small now, but I can tell you which flavor you're getting if you want."

"Phoebe says it's a boy, and I know better than to doubt her. All I want to know is it healthy?" Shawn asked.

"Ten fingers, ten toes, you can even make out the eyes and ears now." He pointed out the features.

"He's perfect." Phoebe said

They noticed that the fetus' head turned and looked right at them.

"It's almost like he knows we're looking at him." The doctor said.

"He does." Phoebe was barely audible.

"Do you have any questions or concerns?" The doctor asked.

"Is there any sort of brace or support you can get me for my back?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, there is the Sacor brace, but the wait on that is about 2 months." He said.

"I can get her one in a few days." Shawn said. "My company developed and manufactures them. Our doctors designed them about five years ago, I was injured on the job and none of the existing braces would work."

The doctor asked, "What sort of injury was it?"

"A bullet took a chunk out of my spinal column. The resulting surgery left my back too weak to support me, so they made the Sacor brace. We named it after the head of the design team."

"Any chance you could increase production?" The doctor asked.

"We're working on that, but the injection molding process is very complex and almost every pregnant women is wanting one. You see, each one has to be custom made for the person, so we have to fit the person individually."

Friday, February 29th 2008 

"_Happy Birthday Dear Julie and Jennifer, Happy birthday to you._" The assembled crown finished. The 4 year olds blew out the two candles on their cake.

"Why we have one candle, we four?" Julie asked.

"You see your birthday only happens once every four years. That makes it even more special." Prue said, cutting them each a slice of the marble cake.

After the cake had been sliced and diced, the twins began to unwrap their presents.

"Happy birthday girls. This is from me and Melinda." Piper handed them each a box.

"Thank you Aunt Piper." They said together, tearing apart the blue paper. They held up books labeled 'My first spell book'. Steve was video recording everything.

"What's that, girls." He panned towards them.

"Spell books, we real witches now!" They shouted.

"Didn't Steve and I get Melinda one of those for her fourth birthday?" Prue asked.

"Remember what we got for our fourth birthdays?" Piper responded.

"Yep, standard four year old witch gift."

"Our gift is a two part gift." Phoebe told them. "The first part is this." She gave them a card. Opening it up they saw two five dollar bills. "Thank you Aunt Phoebe."

"You're welcome." She told them. "I think your Uncle Shawn has the second part of your gift out back."

They jumped up and ran out the door as fast as their short legs could carry them.

The two girls stopped and looked around the yard and only saw their uncle. "Be careful, I saw your present running around the yard. It's about this big," he held his hands about a foot apart. "Is black, and says 'woof woof."

"A doggie!" They shouted. "Thank you Uncle Shawn, thank you Aunt Phoebe." They ran over to their Uncle and hugged him.

"Your aunt and I talked with you mommy and daddy, and they said that you two were old enough for a dog. Remember, having a dog is a lot of work. You have to feed him and give him water and play with him." Shawn told them.

Just them, a high pitched yelp was heard. Turning around, the trio spotted the Black Lab under the tree. The girls ran over and began to shower the puppy with attention.

"Why a black Lab?" Steve asked.

Shrugging, "Their good with kids, and that was the kind I was going to get before my mother died."

"How big will it get?"

"About 60 or 70 pounds." Shawn answered.

"That's bigger than the girls." Prue was getting nervous.

"He's got obedience school on Monday." Shawn handed over the papers. He turned back around and watched the twins play with their new pet.

Prue wiped a tear from her eye. "I can't believe I almost gave all this up."

"That wasn't the real you four years ago. That was Postpartum Psychosis." Steve walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"Just promise that you'll never let me get that low again. I don't care if you have to drag me to a counselor by my hair." She rested her head on his arm.  
"Ugh, me Tarzan, you Jane." Steve managed to keep a straight face.

"I might be able to drop the girls off on one of my sisters for the night." Prue grinned naughtily. "Ape-man"

"A night without the girls, haven't had one of those in four years. PIPER!" Steve called out.

Thursday, April 24, around 10:30 PM. 

"That was wonderful!" Piper nearly shouted, "Where did you get the tickets?"

"The conductor's a friend of mine." Willow replied. "I helped him with his computer project. He wanted to have the musical archives on-line."

"I haven't been to the symphony in years." Pru said, carrying Jennifer.

"Not since before the twins were born. What did we hear anyway?" Steve asked, shifting Julie to his other arm.

"A salute to Beethoven." Pru answered, "Not that I could hear it over your snoring."

"Slow down, I can't walk that fast." Phoebe called out. She carried an extra 30 pounds on her small frame.

"Sorry honey." Shawn stopped walking.

"It's not you, he's kicking my lungs, and stomach, and anywhere else he can reach." Phoebe said.

"Try four legs kicking you." Pru countered. "When are you due?"

"My due date is Monday, but the doctor says it could be anytime now."

A new voice entered the conversation. "I just what the coin!" From the shadows, a hideous creature emerged. It was a patchwork of various demons and technologies.

"Adam." Willow gasped.

His left arm 'transformed' into a three barreled rotary cannon. He took aim at the group. Piper froze the creature is he fired.

"Ready Prue?" She asked.

"Ready." Prue responded.

"Aim for the arm." Willow advised.

A bit surprised, "How do you know where to aim?" Piper asked.

"I'm a security consultant, remember." Willow said.

"Unfreeze him." Pru ordered.

The 20 mm rounds did a 180 degree turn and impacted on the demon's left forearm.

"Built-in armor. A gift from the Erusael demon. I can keep this up all night." Adam taunted.

"Not if you backfire." Pru redirected the bullets back down the barrels. The incoming rounds detonated the ones in the chambers, causing the gun assembly to explode.

"You bitch! Do you know how much that hurts?" Adam bellow.

"Not as much is this will." Shawn launched a series of kicks and punches at the demon. Adam barely noticed the furious assault. He backhanded Shawn with his good right arm.

"You hurt Uncle Shawn!" Jennifer yelled. She wiggled out of her mother's arms and threw her right hand out, like she was punching someone. A ball of fire exploded in the demon's chest. Jennifer followed with a left then another right. She was exhausted after about a dozen. Adam was visibly weakened.

"I will have that child." He disappeared into the shadows, before anyone could follow up the fire attack.

"Willow, what on Earth was that?" Piper asked, after checking Melinda. Phoebe was standing over Shawn, who was starting to wake.

"That was Adam. Early in the year 2000, The Initiative created Adam. Their scientists pieced him together from various demons. He killed a lot of people in an attempt to take over the world. Me, Buffy, and the rest of the gang managed to defeat him once. I thought we finished him for good." Willow finished explaining.

Leo orbed in. "I'm too late, aren't I?"

"Came to finish me off?" Shawn asked, rising weakly to his feet.

"I was only following orders." Leo answered.

"That defense didn't work, even work at the Nuremberg trials. You disobeyed orders when you saved Piper eight years ago." Shawn verbally dug into Leo.

"I'm not going to stand here and defend myself. I just came here to tell you that you can't involve Buffy in this fight."

"Why not?" Willow asked, "She defeated him before."

"The Slayer can only can upon the ancient powers once." Leo began to orb out.

"Your welcome for saving your daughter!" Shawn shouted to the disappearing man. Leo rematerialized, "Look here, I could of orbed in and out without anyone getting hurt. But no, you have to go storming in like the Marines! How many more people did you kill? How many more families did you ruin? You don't know, do you?" Leo wasn't backing down.

"Too many, I've ruined too many families in my lifetime." Shawn answered, "But how many did I save by killing the vampires and demons? Tell me that."

"Not enough, there'll never be enough people saved to make up for what you've done, beast." Leo stormed off.

Melinda walked over to Piper and Chad. She picked up a black felt jewelry box. "You dropped this."  
"What's that?" Piper asked.

"It's a little strange…" He started to say.

"Chad, me and my sisters are witches, my brother-in-law is half vampire, and my ex-husband is a guardian angel. So whatever you have isn't that strange."

"Well, I hadn't planned on doing this now, and I'm not too good with words." He dropped to one knee, opened the box, and placed it in Piper's hand. "Do you get the idea?"

Grinning, "Um, You're going to have to be a little more specific." Piper said.

"Grant me this one wish, marry me Piper?" Chad asked.

She looked at Melinda, who was sporting an ear-to-ear grin. "Yes, I'll marry you."

Chad jumped to his feet and hugged Piper. He then slipped the ring on her finger.

"What do I call you now? Daddy?" Melinda asked the pair. "I already have one daddy, are you daddy too?"

"I guess so."

Shawn's eyes snapped open at the noise downstairs.

Silently, he moved through the living room and into the kitchen. The refrigerator door was open and someone was rooting around inside. Shawn turned on the lights.

"Sorry Shawn, did I wake you up?" Phoebe wasn't even startled by the lights. "I couldn't sleep, so I came down for a snack." She held up a unit of blood.

"Good vintage." Shawn read the label.

Sniffing the contents, "Something doesn't smell right. Did it go bad?" The baby had enhanced her senses a little. She offered him the bag.

Sniffing the bag, "Nope, this is type AB- blood." Shawn said. "Rarest there is."

"Wait a minute, Piper is AB-." Phoebe understood. "This is Piper's blood?!"

"Ya, you remember when she and Prue got pregnant and the other sisters and Willow began to donate blood?" Phoebe nodded. "Well, she felt bad about the way Leo acted towards me and gave me this unit. She said to save it for a special occasion." Shawn told her.

"I think this is special." She wrapped her arms around Shawn's waist. Her hands didn't reach all the way around him. "I can't wait to have this baby. My back is killing me and I'm fat and I can't walk very well…" Shawn listened as she griped.

Friday, April 25th, morning. 

"Good morning Phoebe. How you feeling?" Shawn asked as he entered the kitchen.

Phoebe turned around and kissed him on the cheek. "My stomach's a little queasy, but I think I just ate someone that didn't agree with me." They both grinned at the joke. "I'm going over after breakfast to help Piper with the wedding."

"You have the cell phone party line set, right?" He asked, as he headed out the door.

"Yep, you set it last month." She pointed to the phone on the table.

"I'll be home around 5:30 or so. Call if you need anything."

"So, Piper who's going to be your maid of honor?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, I know that I promised that if I ever got remarried, it would be you, but would you be upset if I asked Melinda?" Piper was worried how Phoebe would react. "You could still be the Maiden of Honor."

"I don't mi.… Ahh." She groaned. "Piper hand me that phone." She pointed to the table.

Phoebe opened the phone and dialed. Everyone in the family carried phones that could be three wayed. She entered two numbers and spoke one message:

"**Show time!!!"**

"Piper, I need a ride to the hospital, now!" Phoebe groaned again.

Across town, Shawn was in a directors meeting when the call came in.

"Ladies and Gentleman, Does anyone have any questions that can't wait until next week?" Nobody said anything. "Then, I'm calling this meeting. We will reconvene next week, I have to get to the hospital; I'm going to be a father." The assembled crowd broke into applause.

Shawn hit the speed dial for the motor pool. "Start my car, 'Operation Father's day' is a go, repeat 'Father's day' is a go." He hung up before the operator could acknowledge.

"Shawn, can I get a ride with you?" Willow called out.

"Sure, I think that the Godmother should be there." Shawn pressed the garage button in his private elevator.

Prue was busy looking over the rolls of film she had just developed. "Damn." She muttered, when the phone started beeping. She was hoping to get through the 180 frames. When she saw the message, the photos were forgotten.

She made it outside just as Piper's jeep was backing out of the driveway.

Jumping in, "Okay Pheebs, let's start breathing." She began coaching.

"Come on , Phoebe! You're doing great!" Prue told her.

The doctor was positioned between Phoebe's feet, ready to welcome the new baby into the world. "Alright Mrs. Wolff, one more good push."

Phoebe inhaled and began pushing. When she finished the push, she heard a high pitched cry.

"Prue, is that…?"

"Yep, it's my nephew." Prue looked at the slimy newborn. He was flailing his tiny arms and legs around. Shawn ran into the room, out of breath.

"Did I miss anything? Traffic was gridlocked." Shawn noticed the baby. "Is that..?"

"Not yet, would you like to cut the cord?" The doctor held up a pair of Umbilical Scissors.

"Thank you," Shawn took the offered instrument. After he cut the cord, he broke the scissors.

"Sorry doc, but tradition dictates that those could not be used for any lesser purpose."

"Different religions, we'll just add that to the bill."

The crying newborn had a thick patch of dark hair. He looked at the new world through his father's light brown eyes.

"So what's his name, dad?" Prue asked.

"Phoebe gets to name him." Shawn answered.

One of the nurses was holding a clipboard. "What should I put on the birth certificate?"

"Shawn Vincent Wolff Jr." Phoebe never looked up from the tiny new life.

"Jr.?" Shawn looked at her.

"Don't like Jr.?"

"How about the 2nd." Shawn said.

"I like that, the 2nd." The nurse made the corrections on the form. "Born at 10:26 a.m., 25, April 2008. Weight, 8 pounds 12 ounces. Length, 22 inches. Big baby."

"Tell me about it." Phoebe said sarcastically. "Want to hold him Shawn?"

"I'm afraid I'll break him, he's so tiny." Shawn gently accepted his son. "Hi there little guy. I'm your daddy. Some people say I've done some bad things, but I promise you this; I'll be the best daddy I can." Shawn whispered to little Shawn. A tear of joy formed in his eyes.

"Oh my god, I didn't think that Shawn was physically able to cry." Prue said to Phoebe.

"He saves his tears for really big events." Phoebe responded.

"Julie, Jennifer" Prue leaned over to the twins level. "You two want to meet the boy that made your Uncle Shawn cry?"

They looked at each other. "He must be tough if he made Uncle Shawn cry." Julie said.

"Still want to see him?" Prue asked.

"Okay." They both said.

"Shawn cried?" Willow looked at Prue, "I've never seen him cry."

"How does he keep his emotions so guarded?" Prue asked.

"I don't know?" Willow replied.

Prue felt a gentle tug on her jacket. The twins were still standing there.

"Come over to the window." Prue and Willow each picked up a girl.

'Wolff' Prue typed into the keyboard. The robotic camera panned over the nursery to the right baby and zoomed in on the infant.

Turning to her mom, "It's a baby. How did it make Uncle Shawn cry?" Jennifer asked.

"That's you cousin, Shawn. That's Aunt Phoebe and Uncle Shawn's little boy." Willow told her.

"It's little." Julie said.

"Who's little?" Melinda asked, walking up to the window.

"Little Shawn." Julie answered.

"You two were once that small." Prue told her daughters.

"Was I ever that little, mommy?" Melinda asked.

"No, you were just over 9 pounds when you were born. Shawn's longer than you were, but you weighed more." Piper told her.

"Can we play with him?" Jennifer asked.

Cracking a smile, "I'm afraid not. He's not going to do much right now, except eat, sleep, and cry. But, I bet Aunt Phoebe would let you help watch him." Little Shawn yawned and looked at the group of people he didn't know yet.

Shawn Sr. walked into Phoebe's room, a brown paper shopping bag in hand. "How you feeling, mom?"

"Happy and sad. I'm happy to be a mother, but I miss Shawn." Phoebe touched her deflated stomach.

"Well, I think I can help a bit." He pulled a teddy bear out of the bag. "This was mine when I was a child. I kept it all these years."

A nurse knocked as she entered the room, she was pushing a bassinet. "I have a visitor for you." She gently lifted the infant from the rolling crib and laid it in Phoebe's arms. The nurse left the family.

"Hi there, I'm your mommy." The child smiled at he sound of her voice. "And he's your daddy." Phoebe turned him so he could see Shawn Sr.

"I still can't believe I'm a father. I'm worried I'm going to wake up and be back at the watchers headquarters." Shawn confessed.

"Why?" Phoebe asked.

"This is something that was told countless time that I would never have: a family. They kept telling me that no one would ever love a monster like me. I started to believe them." Shawn was tearing up.

"It's over; The Watchers and you. You have a life without them, so enjoy it." Phoebe tried to cheer him up. "Besides, I'm the one that's supposed to get mental and depressed."

"Could you close the door, please?" Phoebe asked.

"Sure, what's up?" Shawn scanned the hall and then the room. His hand reached for the pistol hidden under his jacket.

"I just want a little privacy to feed the baby." Phoebe opened the front of her hospital gown. Shawn 2 began to suckle. "This is supposed to help the mother-child bond."

"Good thing he didn't take after me anymore." Shawn said. He turned on the TV and selected the sports channel.

"Why? What were you like as a baby?" Phoebe became intrigued.

"I was born with my canines, I took after my father. Mom told me that I developed a taste for human blood at a very early age." Shawn creaked a smile.

"Ouch," Phoebe groaned, "You were mean to your mom."

"I still go to church on her birthday and light a candle for her." Shawn lowered his head.

"You miss her?" Phoebe asked.

"As much as you miss yours. Maybe more since you three had more time with her."

"I barely knew mom, she died a few years after I was born." Phoebe switched Shawn 2 in her arms.

"Hungry little fellow, isn't he." Shawn noted how much his son was eating.

"He's the first son in our family tree. That tree dates back almost three hundred years." Phoebe told him.

"Warren, Melinda, Born sometime in the late 1600's; records are scarce. Burned at the stake as a witch." Shawn filled in the timeline.

"That's her. Piper named her daughter after her." She looked at the baby. "Prue told me that Julie and Jennifer want to take Shawn out to play with Warlock when he gets home." Phoebe laughed.

"The dog?" Shawn asked.

"Yep, she told them that he was too small to play with the dog right now." She finished feeding.

"Hand him over, mom. You're hogging all the cuddle time." Shawn had a towel draped over his shoulder for the burping. He then turned and sat with Little Shawn looking at the hockey highlights. "This is part of the Father-son bonding process." He laughed.

"Men and sports." Phoebe groaned.

Friday, April 30th, around noon. 

""Welcome home Aunt Phoebe!" The kids yelled as Shawn's Jeep pulled into the driveway.

"Shhhh, he's sleeping." Phoebe whispered.

Shawn gathered the bags from the backseat as Phoebe walked into the house.

"I want the child." Adam said as he walked out of the tree line.

"Why didn't the dog bark?" Julie asked her mom.

Holding up a bloody collar, "You mean this dog? He tried to bite me, so he won't be joining us for the rest of its life."

"NOOOOOO! Jennifer yelled. She put her hands together forming a triangle with her thumbs and forefingers. Then she thrust her hands out; a stream of fire shot from it. Prue, angry over the killing of her daughters pet, mentally blocked the demon's retreat. The fire slowly blistered Adam's chest and arms. After about twenty seconds, Jennifer collapsed, exhausted. Adam fell to his knees, but remained conscious. Shawn dropped the bags and began his own attack. Adam tried to impale Shawn on his forearm spike, but Shawn dodged it, then broke it off. He raised the spike to finish Adam off, but the point broke off as it hit Adam.

"Rapid healing. Another gift of the Erusael ." Adam punched Shawn across the yard.

Adam disappeared during the distraction.

"That's twice he's done that! I am seriously pissed." Shawn bellowed.

"What's pissed?" Julie asked Prue.

"It's a bad word, that your uncle shouldn't be saying. Neither should you." She gave him the stare.

"Sorry. I'm just really mad at that demon." Shawn paced the yard, "Are you alright Pheebs?"

"Ya, Jennifer stopped him." Phoebe was holding the baby tightly.

"There has to be some way to stop him. Let's check the Book of Shadows." Piper said.

"Look under the Erusael Demon, since we know that's part of his make up." Shawn said as they gathered around the book.

"It says that intense heat will kill the demon." Prue read.

"Ya, 'cause Jennifer was able to weaken him enough for me to break off that spike." Shawn said. "But the problem is that she's not strong enough yet to deliver the heat required to finish Adam off."

The pages began to turn by themselves. They finally stopped on the page marked

'**The New Power of Three**.'

"The new Power of Three?" Piper was puzzled, "Did we get replaced?"

"It says here that the way to defeat a Conglomerate Demon is by uniting three who are family, but not sisters." Prue continued her reading. "The book says that the triad will be two who are pure and their champion."

The light went on in Shawn's head. "I know who the three are; Jennifer, Melinda, and Me. We're family, but not sisters."

"What makes you think that?" Piper asked.

"Neither of them have killed a demon yet, so they're pure in that sense. Also, I'm referred to as 'The Champion' in the other text we found. Plus I saw the spell at the bottom of the page. It's a power booster spell." Shawn pointed out. "Melinda holds Adam; while Jennifer deep fries him. I act like a battery, providing the extra power for Jennifer."

"It sounds dangerous. What if you can't provide enough power?" Phoebe asked as she walked into the attic; Shawn 2 was in her arms. "He said he wanted to see his daddy."

"What's up there, Shawn?" Shawn asked Shawn. "You being good for mommy?"

Little Shawn smiled and waved his hands around.

"How are the girls doing?" Phoebe asked Prue.

Prue lowered her head, "They're both really upset about Adam killing Warlock. They loved that dog."

They all heard a scream from down stairs. Shawn handed the baby over to Phoebe and ran out the door, drawing his sidearm. He came down the stairs quickly and cautiously. Scanning the room he didn't see the cause of the screams, just the source; the twins.

"The d-d-d-door." Julie said.

Shawn turned and saw the cause; Adam had hung the severed head of the dog on the door. Shawn quickly removed the head and checked the front yard.

"Do you two want to do something about that demon?" Shawn asked when he returned.

As one, they answered immediately, "Yes."

"Melinda, we need your help too. But you have to agree." Shawn told her.

Melinda looked at her mom, "Should I?"

"I can't tell you what to do. You have to decide for yourself." Piper said.

Melinda then looked at the twins; their happy world shattered by Adam. "What do I have to do?"

They began the preparations for the spell.

"You both remember the chant?" Prue asked Jennifer and Melinda.

"Yep." Jennifer said.

"Let's go, we can't fight on holy ground." Shawn said as he opened the door.

"Where are you going to fight him?" Phoebe asked, still holding Shawn 2.

Shawn held her in his arms, "We're going to hit him at his lair."

"Can you find him?" Piper asked.

"I slipped a tracer on him during the last fight. We can track him with this." He pulled out a hand held display unit. He then gave another one to Prue. "You can track us with this one. We may need back-up. Wait ten minutes before you come after us."

"I love you Shawn." Phoebe kissed him. Prue and Piper were offering encouraging words to their daughters.

Near some caves 

Shawn pulled his jeep under a tree and unhooked the seat belts. "You two ready?" Jennifer nodded.

Shawn removed the clip from his 12 mm pistol.

"Bullets don't hurt him." Melinda reminded Shawn.

"I'm hoping that I won't need this, but I'm loading it with Phosphorous coated tracer rounds. They burn as they go through the air. Creating heat."

"Over there!" Jennifer yelled. "Something moved."

"Ready?" Shawn asked one last time.

"Yes." Melinda answered.

Nodding her head, "Ready." Jennifer concurred.

"Let's do it."

"ADAM! It's just us four. Let's finish this game." Shawn pulled a survival style knife from the back seat and hung it on his belt.

"You brought two children to fight me, P-lease." Adam taunted.

Shawn placed a hand on each of the girls shoulders. "Begin." He whispered.

_By the power of three from Three_

_Join our strength_

_One, let us be_

_GIVE US THE POWER!_

A bolt of lightning came from the cloudless sky; striking the three. Adam laughed at the sight. "I can't believe you messed up a simple spell."

When the smoke cleared, he saw that all three were still standing, heads bowed. As one they looked up; their eyes glowed: Shawn's blood red, Jennifer's pure white, and Melinda's were electric blue . Waves of energy could be seen rising from the group.

One voice echoed from three mouths, "Your reign of terror has come to an end."

Adam tried to turn, but some unseen force held him there. Slowly, the invisible force started to crush Adam. Jennifer raised her hands in the triangle pattern and launched an intense white flame at Adam. He began to bellow in pain and fear. No one was around to hear him.

A few minutes later; Prue, Piper, Phoebe, and the remaining two children showed up.

"Wow! Jennifer's putting out a lot of heat! Look at the ground around them!" Piper pointed out the scorched earth.

"Forget the ground, check out Adam!" Prue was nearly shouting.

The demon was a blackened, charred mass. He remained standing only because of the intensity of the flame striking him and the unseen hand of Melinda. His skin was blistered and peeling. He had stopped his wailing; the nerve endings had been so badly burned that they no longer carried pain impulses. Liquefied metal dripped from his technical implants.

The three sisters noticed that the flame was getting weaker. They watched as Shawn summoned up his remaining power and channeled it into Jennifer for one last burst. He dropped to his knees and then fell face first; completely spent. Both Melinda and Jennifer fell to the ground, too tired to move.

Willow, who had arrived in time to see the end, ran over to Shawn, pulled his knife and proceeded to slice open Adam's back. Reaching into the gapping, smoldering wound; she yanked his half-melted power pack out.

"It's over." She told the others.

Tears welled up in Phoebe's eyes, "Is he…?"

Checking for a pulse, "He's alive, but barely." Prue then checked on the two children; neither Melinda nor Jennifer was injured, just tired.

"We did it, didn't we?" Melinda asked, then fell asleep in Piper's arms.

"Yes, yes you did. My brave little girl." Piper stroked her daughter's hair.

Julie walked over to her sleeping sister, and shook her. Jennifer mumbled something that sounded like 'Go away.'

"Jennifer needs to rest, Julie. You can talk to her tomorrow." Prue gently lifted her child.

"Could someone help me with Shawn?" Phoebe was trying to lift the unconscious man by herself. Willow took up a position under Shawn's other arm; while, Prue added a little mental lift. The three women managed to get Shawn into the jeep.

"Why did they ask Jenny to help, but not me?" Julie asked.

Trying to think of a nice way to tell her, Prue paused. "She has the power to control fire, and they needed fire to defeat the demon."

"I WANT AN ACTIVE POWER!" Julie shouted.

Trying to control her laughter, "Prue, does that sound familiar?" Piper joked, referring to Phoebe's original passive power.

"Ya, but she took up hand to hand combat to make up for it." Prue was not wanting her daughters to take up martial arts yet.

"Julie, Aunt Phoebe started out with the same power you have. She developed more active powers as she got older." Prue tried to comfort Julie, who was feeling left out.

Shawn slowly opened his eyes; he hurt all over. Shawn didn't roll over due to the small weight on his back. "Phoebe, you there?" He groaned. "Shawn, stop gnawing on daddy's shoulder blade."

"Don't move, I had to put little Shawn down and you were the only place he didn't cry. Plus, you're still weak from the battle." Phoebe picked the baby up and began feeding little Shawn. Slowly he rolled over and looked at his son.

"Have you been good for your mommy?" He asked the infant, who still had the bottle in his mouth.

"Say, of course daddy. How much trouble could I cause?" Phoebe answered for little Shawn.

"Piper said that Julie refused to let them stay at the Manor; she made her and Melinda sleep at her house." Phoebe sat down in the rocking chair.

"Tell her that the next demon is all hers." Shawn glanced out the window. "What time is it?"

"Almost 5:00 PM. The girls woke up about an hour ago. Piper's cooking dinner for everyone at the manor. You able to go?" She asked. Shawn finished the bottle off.

"Ya, just let me get a shower. When did you start bottle feeding?" He responded.

"Two days ago, I couldn't keep him full by myself."

"We got any O+?" He asked, trying to sit up.

"I'll get the blood, you burp the baby." Phoebe handed over Shawn.

Shawn Sr. draped a towel over his shoulder and tapped his son on the back. A bit of milk dribbled down little Shawn's chin. Big Shawn looked at the smiling infant.

"You know, when you get older, women don't find drooling on yourself attractive." He wiped Shawn's face.

Son looked at father; Father looked at son. Neither one made a sound.

-Click- A camera went off.

"I had to get the moment on film." Phoebe said. "Here's you sports drink."

"Want some?" He offered her the pouch.

"No. I have had enough blood for one lifetime." Phoebe declined.

Pausing from his drink, "Until the next child." Shawn dead-panned.

"That'll be a few years from now. But this mother thing isn't so bad." Phoebe sat on the bed next to the Shawns.

Friday August, 29th 2008. 

"This place is starting to look like a daycare center. Has anyone seen Shawn?" Phoebe scanned the floor. Little Shawn had started to creep and crawl. She wasn't ready for the rapid development that Shawn Sr.'s genetics brought.

"I think I saw…" Piper dropped to her knees and threw-up into the trash can.

"Déjà vu." Prue said. She waddled back to the table. She was five months along with her third child.

"Huh?" Piper wiped her mouth.

"Check the calendar. A year ago Phoebe told us she was pregnant. Ironically, right after she threw up into that same trash can" Prue told her.

"Well, history repeats itself. I'm only about two weeks late." Piper said.

"Did you tell Chad or Melinda yet?" Phoebe asked, picking up Shawn.

"I told Chad this morning, and I'm waiting until Melinda gets home from school." Piper sipped some tea.

"I'll get it." Phoebe handed Prue Shawn as she headed for the front door. "Prue, you got a telegram from someone in New York. You know anyone name Pulitzer?"

"As in the Pulitzer Prize for Photojournalism? As in the one award that I haven't won yet? As in the only thing I've wanted since I started taking pictures?" She paused for breath, "No, never heard of it." She gave Phoebe little Shawn as she took the envelope.

"Open it. This is so exciting." Piper nearly spilled her tea.

"Dear Mrs. Carter, On behalf of the Jury for Photojournalism I am honored to inform you that you work entitled 'Loved ones' Has been selected as winner for the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. Enclosed are confirmations on hotel and…Blah blah blah." Prue stopped reading the letter. "Oh my God, I won!!!!!" She grabbed the phone off the wall, and dialed the hospital's number. "Steve, I just got a telegram saying that I won the Pulitzer! They want me to come to New York to accept the award. I know, in about three weeks. I love you. Bye."

"Which one won?" Piper asked.

"The one with Phoebe holding Shawn the night that he got shot saving Melinda." Prue thought about it for a moment. "I really don't remember taking it, but somehow it ended up on the roll."

"Will you be able to attend?" Phoebe asked.  
"Why wouldn't I be?" Prue turned and accidentally bumped into the counter. "Oh, you mean my big belly, I'll have to talk to my doctor about that."

"Another set of twins?" Piper asked.

"No, just one really big pregnant woman and one small baby." Prue stroked her abdomen. Julie and Jennifer ran up to their mother.

"Little sister, get out here. We want someone to play with." The three sisters laughed.

"Ouch, I told you two to go easy on your poor old mom. This baby is kicking me worse than the two of you did."

"We're sorry, mommy." They said as one and stroked her belly, trying to sooth the agitated baby.

"I was just thinking, we should check the Book of Shadows for anything on remarried and award winning ones too." Phoebe joked. "Look what happened when we didn't check on the Day Stalker."

The three sisters broke out in laughter.

The End.


End file.
